Sweet sixteen
by Chocolate-Covered-Coffee-Beans
Summary: [AU][Major Fluff] Hitomi and Van grow up together and they don't exactly get along. Eventually, they come to tolerate one another and even become friends. Everyone else can see what's going on but aparently they don't. Will they ever?
1. Childish Squables

**Chapter 1-- Childish Squables**

"Say cheese!" There was yet another blinding white flash. Hitomi rubbed her eyes and hoped that it was over. " Hitomi dear, move over a bit towards Van. That's it." Hitomi put on another big cheesy smile and waited for the dreaded flash. The camera clicked, filling Hitomi's vision with the intense light. She wiggled over as far away from Van as humanly possible. He looked just about as thrilled as she did. " Hitomi, move back over there. I need to get one more just to make sure."

Hitomi started to pout. " But I don't wanna." her mother tapped her foot.

"Hitomi…." Hitomi crossed her arms in protest.

"It's alright Mrs Kanzaki, I'll sit between them." Mrs Kanzaki sighed at her daughter's stubbornness. " You're an angel Folken." she smiled warmly at the young man as he took the spot between the two. Folken put his arms around both Hitomi and Van and squeezed them in closer for a group hug. " Say cheese you two."

Sadly Folken was the only one with a cheerful smile on his face. Van and Hitomi were too busy giving each other death glares.

"Van, don't be rude. Remember to mind your manners. Starring isn't polite." Mrs Fanel scolded with a slight frown.

As soon as Folken let the two go they stormed off in opposite directions. Hitomi stomped off upstairs to her room and Van disappeared into the basement downstairs. " why can't those two just get along for a change?" Folken wondered out loud. " you think that they would at least try to get along. They've known each other since they've been born."

Mrs Fanel nodded to her son in agreement. "We've been friends with the Kanzaki's a very long time."

Mrs Kanzaki smiled at her old friend. " Yes, we've been so fortunate to have such good friends. As for Hitomi and Van, I think they'll sort out their differences.

Mr Fanel chuckled " the only reason those two don't get along to well is because they tease each other too much. It's always Van pinched me' or Hitomi called me a brat again'. I think it's actually quite funny." he chuckled again when his wife stared at him with narrow eyes.

Mr Kanzaki chuckled along with him. " Typical nine year olds."

Everything in the living room screamed dinner party. Dainty plates of crackers, cheese, pickles, cookies, mini tarts, and other munchies rested on clear glass plates resting on a immaculate ivory lace table cloth. Coffee mugs and cups dotted the coffee tables also resting on smooth glass coasters. The parents and Folken were talking excitedly about their plans for the summer. It was the one of the reasons Mrs Kanzaki prepared this little get together. It was the first day of Summer break for Van, Hitomi, Merle, Seth, and of course Folken who was going to collage.

"Kids, supper time!" Mrs Fanel chimed. She waited expectantly with a warm motherly smile on her face. _I wonder what's taking them so long._

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With leaps and bounds, Merle scampered towards the proud tree standing directly in the middle of the comely backyard. Her grin was extremely mischievous. With a few giggles for herself, she expertly climbed the rough trunk. " Try and catch me now!" she triumphantly declared to the little boy panting at the tree's base.

"No fair Merle! That's cheating! You know the tree is off limits." the boy wheezed.

Atop her high and might perch, Merle took the time to stick her tongue out at him to utterly torment him. This only made him angrier. He made a frustrated frown and hopelessly tried to claw his way up the tree. Merle giggled as he struggled in vain. There was no way he could get up.

"What's the matter Seth? Can't climb trees?" Merle giggled some more. Seth tried his best not to look defeated.

"No, I can climb trees. I just can't climb this type of tree." he protested. Merle didn't buy that at all.

"Seth can't climb trees, Seth can't climb trees, Seth can't climb trees…" Merle chanted over and over. With every word Seth became more and more agitated. Nervously, he shuffled his feet. He didn't know what to say. Merle had gotten the better of him. Looking down in embarrassment, Seth's face heated. _I'm being beaten by a girl. _Not just any girl at that. He'd known her all his life. They'd spent so much time together as infants and toddlers, it wasn't even funny. They probably wouldn't admit it but they were if fact best friends. Seth and Merle were inseparable. Wherever Seth was, Merle was not far behind and wherever Merle was, Seth was tagging along beside her. Among Merle's chanting a light bulb went off inside Seth's head. _Of Course! Why didn't I think of if before?_ Secretively he smiled up at Merle.

"Hey Merle…" the slow smile tugged into a toothy grin.

Merle stopped her chanting to humour him " What is it Seth?" she asked sweetly. Innocently she cocked her head to one side.

"Your mother is going to get so mad when she sees you climbing this tree" he informed her with a pleasant smile. It was the truth, Mrs Fanel despised the fact her only daughter did crazy tom-boyish things. To her it was a breach in ladies etiquette, an etiquette that Merle should be following religiously.

Merle stopped smiling " She won't see me…" she looked cautiously at the house mentally expecting to see her mother watching her with disapproval. " You won't tell her, right Seth?" the way he was smiling at her made her very worried.

"Please Seth, promise me you won't tell her." Seth stood quietly. His smile never wavered. This was just what he wanted. Merle had most likely forgotten the fact he couldn't climb the blasted tree.

"Don't worry, I won't." he watched her inch her way down the tree

"You don't think she saw me did you?" her eyes were as round as saucers. Visibly, Merle relaxed. " that's good." it was quiet for a few moments. " I wonder if supper is ready" They both looked towards the house. From outside they could hear people talking in the kitchen. A gleeful smile rolled across Merle's face. " Race ya!" she busted into laughter and madly dashed for the house. Laughing as well, Seth chased after her.

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Hitomi calmly and gloomily brushed the cheesy blonde hair of her Barbie doll. Her room was her sanctuary. No one bothered her here. No one. Not her brother, Merle and most especially not Van Fanel. How she loathed him. He was constantly bugging her and ruining all her fun games. She had not forgiven him for what he did yesterday….

_Flashback…_

She was sitting on the picnic table out in her backyard just minding her own business. She was lost in her own thoughts playing a nice quiet game of "town" with all her most favourite and beloved stuffed animals. To top it all off, she made her favourite Barbie the town mayor. This particular Barbie had the most wonderful hair, the best outfit, and matching shoes too. Decked out in purple, Barbie stood ( with a little help from Hitomi) in front of her loyal townsfolk to make about speech about the new fundraiser Hitomi made up. She was about to start her well thought out speech when Van unceremoniously interrupted. " Hi Hitomi, can I play too?" he stood hopefully with his Tonka truck, Gi-I-Joe, and Transformer in hand. Hitomi looked him up and down with a considering look. "I brought my own toys" he looked harmless enough but Hitomi knew better. This was the same boy who pinched her, pulled her short hair, scribbled on every page of her new colouring books…The list was endless. She was very wary of him.

"I just want to play by myself" To make herself look busy she straightened the line of stuffed animal townsfolk in front of Mayor Barbie. Van slumped with disappointment. "Oh….." he stared at the soft grass at his feet.

Noticing his unhappiness, Hitomi thoughtfully asked " Why don't you go play with Merle and Seth?" to Van this was an invitation to sit down, which he did gladly.

Rolling his large Tonka truck idly on the picnic table with his Transformer and Gi-I-Joe inside, Van sighed. " They're watching The lion King' I wanted to watch Aladdin' but they didn't want to."

Hitomi stayed quiet and secretly hoped hopped that he would go away. A few moments like this passed and Van hadn't budged from the table. Van began to change his Transformer into a T-Rex. He didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable Hitomi was. She began fidgeting with Mayor Barbie's clothes and smoothing her hair down. All she wanted was for Van to leave so she could get back to her game. Unfortunately for Hitomi, Van doesn't take hints very well. He mistook her silence as a sign that she didn't mind if he stayed. Oblivious, he picked up his Gi-I-Joe and started a little battle between the Gi-I-Joe and the T-Rex Transformer. He even made sound effects. Hitomi just sighed. _I guess my speech will just have to wait. _Van made a fierce battle cry for Gi-I-Joe as he lunged for the Transformer with a Karate chop. He was very proud of his sound effects. Glancing Hitomi's way he noted that she looked kinda bored.

Hitomi gently set her Barbie down. _Why can't he just leave? _His sound effects were getting on his nerves. " Hey Hitomi, watch this." Van smiled as proudly as he mounted his transformer onto his Tonka truck. Hitomi stared blankly in confusion. _What is he doing?_ Van started his Tonka truck's make believe engine and with one shove he sent it crashing over to Hitomi's side of the picnic table. Hitomi's eyes widened with horror. Her stuffed animals were flying everywhere. Van had never in his wildest dreams imagined that Hitomi was capable of producing such a loud scream. His ears rang with her high-pitched voice. Van felt guilty watching her frantically retrieve her stuffed animals. _Maybe I shouldn't have done that._ He opened his mouth to apologize but stopped. Hitomi's Barbie doll was lying underneath the picnic table and her hair was very much in disarray. Without putting much thought into it, Van picked the Barbie up. While Hitomi was mumbling to herself as she checked over each and everyone of her precious stuffed animals, Van was trying to think of a clever way to make Hitomi less angry. He stared at the Barbie in his hand. It's hair was less then perfect. _Hitomi will probably be mad that I wrecked her doll's hair._ He vividly remembered the last time Hitomi yelled at Merle after she gave Hitomi's Barbie a new hair style. The poor doll had a abnormally large fro when she was done. _If I can just fix it…_Van hopelessly tried finger-combing the knots out. He panicked when it only made it worse. Nervously his eyes shifted to Hitomi. Fortunately for him she wasn't watching._ I gotta fix this fast or…_He didn't even want to think about what Hitomi would do.

Van never thought that he would never have been so happy to see pink. There it was, his salvation. A tiny pink Barbie comb. He could of leapt for joy. Awkwardly he picked up the dainty comb. Robotically he pulled it through the doll's knotted hair. One by one the knots started to disappear. Smiling in triumph, Van raised the brush one more time to give the doll's hair one final stroke.

Maybe he was being a bit over-confident or just wasn't being careful. The bottom line was he was in trouble. Everything changed in a blink of an eye. One moment he was brushing the doll's hair and the next moment he looked down and…Mayor Barbie had no head. Eyes wide with dread he lifted the brush so he could look at it, eye to eye. Glossy blue eyes adorned with mile high lashes, a horrible cheesy smile, and a unholy mess of blonde hair greeted him. Flabbergasted, he dropped the brush. _What do I do now?_

"How could you!" a scream came from behind him. He jerked around to find Hitomi standing there with her stuffed animals clustered into a large clump in her arms. She looked completely devastated. Her green eyes were full to bursting with unshed tears and her bottom lip quivered with sadness. Van on the other hand looked utterly guilty. Hitomi's eyes shifted back and forth from the headless doll in his hand to his vacant expression.

"You're such a….such a jerk!" Tears splattered from her eyes. " I hate you! I hate you!" she shrieked with passion. Not giving him a moment to explain she dashed for the house sobbing along the way.

"I…I didn't mean to…" he was wasting his breath. Hitomi couldn't hear him. He felt like crying himself.

_End of Flashback…_

Hitomi's door creaked open. She looked up from her Barbie with a flat stare. " Hitomi dear, supper is ready." Mrs Fanel peeked into her cute and very organized room. Hitomi couldn't help but grin. She respected Mrs Fanel very much and felt a kind of daughterly fondness for her.

"Coming!" setting down her Barbie, she happily followed Mrs Fanel down the hallway.

"Looking forward to the summer?" Mrs Fanel smiled warmly.

"Yes, dad promised that we'd go camping. We're going to go swimming, have campfires, tell spooky stories, go fishing, play volleyball, go on a hike and have a picnic, feed the squirrels peanuts…." Mrs Fanel laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Yes your parents were talking about that." Hitomi's face brightened dramatically.

"Really?"

Mrs Fanel nodded. " We've decided to come along with you guys too."

Hitomi stopped smiling. _That means Van's coming too. He's gonna ruin everything._


	2. Camping

_Dear thing that I write stuff in,_

_I can't believe it. I should be looking forward to camping but I'm not. Why? Well, because he is coming camping too. This is not going to be fun. He'll most likely poke fun at me, pinch me, pull my hair, make faces at me when I'm not looking, follow me everywhere, and if he has the chance to he'll break all my Barbie's. I can't believe that he broke the head off my favourite one. Maybe I should mutilate his transformer and bury it somewhere to teach him a lesson._

Hitomi read her journal entry over. Satisfied, she snapped the fuzzy blue book shut. _that should do it._ She grabbed the pile of clothes neatly folded on her bed and crammed them into her suitcase. As an after thought she placed her diary inside on of the suitcase pouches beside her beloved stuffed animals and Barbies.

"Hitomi, are you ready yet?" Merle bounced into her bedroom without knocking first as usual. She had a happy grin on her face. Unlike Hitomi, Merle was looking forward to this trip.

"Yeah, I'm ready now. Are we going soon or something?" Hitomi zipped her bag closed and threw it carelessly over her shoulder.

"Uhuh, everything is packed into the vans. Folken says he just has to pick up his girlfriend" Merle immediately erupted into giggles.

"Oh, you mean Sora? The one with the pretty hair."

Merle nodded. "Yeah, she's really nice. Maybe when we get there they'll take us to the beach!" Still grinning madly, Merle grabbed Hitomi's arm and dragged her towards the door. " Come on Hitomi! You're sitting with me!" Hitomi couldn't help but smile back at the enthusiastic little girl.

"Okay Merle, Okay. I'm coming. Just let go of my arm will ya?" Merle, who was still giggly completely ignored Hitomi's plea. "We can sing songs, colour in my colouring book, play with your Barbies, and do each other's hair. I brought these really pretty butterfly clips. Then we can talk about stuff." Merle rambled on. Hitomi managed to pry Merle's tight grasp from her arm.

"OKAY, Merle!" She was desperately thinking of a way to get out of this cruel and unique torture. Merle opened the front door casually.

"This is going to be so great!" she practically shoved poor Hitomi out the door.

"Hey Merle watch it!" She snapped, regained her balance. Outside, the parental units were busy packing the camping equipment into the vehicles. " Merle, how come you're not sitting with Seth?" She was beginning to wonder. The two were usually inseparable.

"He told me that he thinks that I have cooties so I told him that I think that he has cooties and now he's avoiding me until he thinks that the cooties are gone" Hitomi blinked three times. It amazed her how fast Merle was able to talk. "Cooties? Where did he get that idea?" Merle shrugged her shoulders in response. She didn't seem to be upset at all. " I don't know but I'm going to only play with you until my cooties are all gone."

Hitomi's dad looked up from the van and beckoned the two girls over with a hand. Hitomi handed him her suitcase. " Dad, are we going now?" he stuffed her bag into the trunk. " As soon as we're ready. We're just waiting for Folken to get back with Sora. Don't go anywhere okay?" the two girls nodded. "Okay, we'll call you when we're ready to go" "okay" they said in unison.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Hours later in the blue van ( Hitomi, Merle, Mrs and Mr Fanel)_

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high like a diamond in the sky….Hitomi why aren't you singing along?"

Hitomi looked up from her novel with boredom slapped across her face. _hmmmmmmmmm I wonder why? _" ummmmmmmmm Merle, how about we do something else?" She sighed with exasperation as she watched the twitchy 7 year old tap the window in a crazy manner.

"Merle stop tapping the windows!" Varie lectured from the front seat. " It's very rude and annoying"

Merle started to simper and pout. " I'm sorry, it's just there's nothing to do." It was eerily quiet for 15 whole minutes. Hitomi was so thankful for the silence. She was just about to start reading again when she heard Merle pip up once more. "Are we there yet?"

In frustration, Hitomi threw down her precious reading material. " I can't take it anymore! Merle can't you just be quiet! I've had to listen to you talk non-stop for about three hours now. We're almost there, so can you just have a nap or something until we get there? I need some quiet time!" Merle stared at her in complete silence. She honestly looked frightened of Hitomi. Cautiously, Merle scooted over and slowly rested her head against the window, all the while looking straight at Hitomi in fear. Feeling triumphant, Hitomi gracefully picked up her book and started reading again. Merle didn't say a peep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Car ride over in the red van ( Seth, Van, and Hitomi's parents) _

_She hates me. If she hated me before she hates me even more now. I've tried being nice to her and I've tried being her friend. Folken was right, girls are trouble._ Van stared off towards the side of the road, at the never-ending line of trees.

"Hey Van, I wonder if we'll see a deer." Seth was sitting behind him also looking out the window.

"Maybe, who knows." Seth leaned forward to talk to Van again. " ummmmmmmmm Van, are you sure that all girls are trouble? I was thinking about it today and Merle's a girl and she's gotten me into loads of trouble but…"

Van raised his eyebrow slightly " But what? All girls are trouble trust me. _Especially_ your sister."

Seth's eyes widened " But Merle isn't all that bad. Sure she can be loud and annoying sometimes, but she's my friend and she's very nice. That's why I was wondering if you were sure that all girls were trouble."

Van sighed "Think what you want, I guess. Don't say that i didn't warn you though."

Seth looked out the window again. "Is Hitomi still mad at you? She was real upset when you broke her Barbie. Did you say sorry?"

Van started to fidget nervously "I tried to but she ran off before I could say anything."

Seth nodded " But why didn't you say sorry today, when we were all in the kitchen eating breakfast. Now that I think about it you didn't talk to her at all."

"…" Van looked down at his feet.

" Van, you should say sorry. That's the only way that she'll forgive you."

"…"

" Hey, look Van! We're at the campground. You can say sorry to Hitomi now." Seth was on the edge of his seat with anticipation.

Van on the other hand slumped over with dread. "great, just great…" He mumbled to himself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_At the campsite _

Putting up the campsite went smoothly. Gohoua, Folken, and Hitomi's dad put up the tents after they found the instructions. Hitomi and Merle looked very proud of themselves at their attempt to put up a clothing line. It was a bit on the slanted side but it was still functional...Well, sort of. Folken quickly fixed it when he was sure that they weren't looking. Hitomi's mom and Varie took a rain check and left to have a little time to themselves. Seth and Van were to busy pestering the wild life to care about anything.

After awhile of just sitting around playing Barbies with Merle, Hitomi was beginning to wonder if she was stuck hanging out with Merle for the rest of the trip. "No Merle, that shirt doesn't match with that skirt."

Merle looked at the doll and then at Hitomi again. "What do you mean it doesn't match? Orange and purple are great colours."

Hitomi sighed and reached for the doll " Yes, they're great colours but they don't go well together."

Merle snatched the doll away from Hitomi's reach. " Says who?"

Hitomi reached for the doll again "Says me!" She looked mortified and shocked when Merle tried to bite her. " Merle, I don't want to play this anymore. I'm going to the beach."

Merle just shrugged. "Okay, I'll stay here."

" Fine." She was glad to get rid of the pest but now she didn't have anyone to talk to. Sulkily, she changed into her bathing suit and headed out for the beach. On her way over she saw Folken and Sora strolling down the dirt path.

"Where do ya think you're going?" Folken stood in front of her, blocking her path.

" To the beach." She tried moving around him but he stepped in front of her again.

" By yourself? Why don't you take Seth, Van, and Merle with you? It's no fun going by yourself and not very safe either." Folken looked concerned, so Hitomi stopped to explain.

"Merle didn't want to come. As for Van and Seth…they didn't want to come either and besides I just wanted to go by myself."

Folken shook his head. " It's not a good idea to be wandering of by yourself."

Sora nodded in agreement. "Folken, why don't we take her? We were just going to wander around anyways." She smiled at Hitomi

"Okay, I guess but…" Folken stopped for a moment and rubbed his chin slowly "Only if you wear that bikini you said you were going to bring." He looked Sora up and down with a smug, mischievous smirk on his face.

She pushed him teasingly "As if I'd put that on just because you wanted me to. Sorry Folkie, it's not going to happen."

"Pretty please?" Folken smiled hopefully.

" No Folken, and that puppy dog look isn't going to work either. Come on Hitomi, I'll take you to the beach even if Mr.Sweet adorable pervert doesn't want to come along." Hitomi blinked with puzzlement. _I can never figure these older people out. They act so weird and love dovey . I guess I'll understand when I'm older, at least that's what Dad always says._

"Okay, I'm coming." Hitomi followed Sora towards the beach.

_Damn, the puppy dog look always gets her. _Sheepishly, he racked a hand through his silvery locks. For a second he frowned. _maybe I'm having a bad hair day?_ He shrugged. "Sora, wait for me. Why did you call me a pervert? I'm no pervert. Sora?" He chased after her while trying to fix his hair.

"Sure you're not…" Was Sora's sarcastic remark.

Folken sighed. _At least I'm a sweet adorable pervert. That has to count for something._

Hitomi sat bleakly at the edge of the dock, listening to the frothy waves lap the underside of the weathered dock. Periodically, she dipped her toe into the dark abyss of lake water. _Now what? I'm finally out here and now I still have nothing to do. _Curving her toes into a arch, she flicked water out towards the lake._ Boring, boring, and boring. Maybe I should go for a swim. Since I'm here. _she looked over her shoulder at the couple watching her from the shore. Sora waved happily to her. She looked completely content sitting there with her arm wrapped through Folken's. Hitomi waved back, although much less enthusiastically. She glumly shed her towel from off her shoulders, and eased herself into the water. The cool clammy water swept shivers through her body. She gasped lightly at the sudden shock but she quickly got accustomed to the temperature. Breathing slowly through her mouth, Hitomi took deep strokes through the water. She made her way out along the shoreline. Hitomi quickly became tired . She was no competitive swimmer.

As she made her way over to the shore, she noticed a girl about her age sitting down on the sand. The girl had deep burgundy red hair that was shoulder length and she was wearing a dark red shorts overtop of black bathing suit. Hitomi stopped to observe what she was doing. The girl was crouched over a very mutilated sand castle. It kept getting smaller and smaller as each bubbly wave came in. The girl was slowly building up the walls of the castle with a frown etched into her features. Building up her courage, Hitomi walked out of the water.

" Hi." The girl looked up with intense brown eyes.

" Hi."

Hitomi sat down next to her shyly. " My name is Hitomi. What's yours?"

"Yukari." Yukari brought her knees to her chest awkwardly. She watched her sand castle slowly waste away with each oncoming wave. "Are you camping here by any chance?"

Yukari slowly swivelled away from her sand castle, that had turned into a mishaped blob and slowly nodded. "Yeah, I'll be here for about another week or so. I'm camping with my aunt and uncle while my parents move all our stuff into our new house." Yukari seemed unhappy when she mentioned the new house.

"Oh, you're moving? Where are you moving to?" Hitomi smiled kindly.

"All the way to Fanalia. It's going to be awful. I'll have to go to a new school with new people I don't know and leave my old friends behind." She sighed deeply and buried her face into her knees.

" To Fanalia? That's where I live! Cheer up, Yukari. You're probably going to the same school I am." Hitomi beamed brightly at the thought of having a new friend.

" Really?" Yukari lifted her head up off her knees, brown eyes wide.

"Yeah, now you can say that you at least know someone from Fanalia." Hitomi stood up and brushed the sand away from her swimsuit. " Do you want to be friends? You could come over for a bit and we can play games or something?" she reached down and pulled Yukari up by the hand.

" Okay Hitomi, that sounds like fun." It took her a moment to let it all sink in.

"Come on Yukari. Let's go over to your camp site first to let your aunt and uncle know where you'll be."

Yukari blinked and jolted back to reality. "Coming"


	3. Camping continued

**Chapter 3-- Camping 2**

Giggles erupted from the tent Hitomi and Merle shared. Yukari had gotten permission to spend the night. Hitomi was ecstatic that she'd found a new and very sane friend. Frankly, Merle was pushing her to the edge with all her mindless babbling, singing, clinginess, and over-all loud in your face presence. For now to Hitomi's delight, Merle was actually being quiet. Now that was rare. Hitomi had a feeling that Merle was somewhat jealous of Yukari. Merle no longer had Hitomi's complete attention. The fact that Hitomi had another friend bothered her. From her side of the tent, Merle shot the two girls a death glare. Oblivious, the two girls chattered away rapidly. Merle mumbled something inaudible to herself and rolled over so that her back faced them.

"So, you know him? Does he go to your school? What's his name?" Yukari asked excitedly. She held her sleeping bag up to her face to hide a blush that was slowly creeping up her face.

"The blonde guy you mean. I hope you're not talking about that geek Dryden." Hitomi smiled at her friend's bashfulness.

"Yes, the blonde one with the hair just past his shoulders. What's he like?" Yukari leaned in closer in anticipation.

"Allen Schezar. I don't know him too well but he's really nice. He goes to my school…I mean our school."

Yukari squealed "He goes to our school? He's so cute!" She covered her mouth. She'd said the last sentence a bit too loudly.

They stared at each other for a few moments in silence. Hitomi could barely contain herself. A fresh batch of the giggles overwhelmed her. Yukari followed her example.

_Flashback…_

Hitomi spotted Allen and Dryden while walking back to her campsite with Yukari. She stared at the two like a dear caught in the headlights. She would of never thought that she'd see them here of all places. To make matters more awkward, Allen waved to her. Slightly pink, she waved back. Yukari was too busy openly gapping at Allen to pay attention to Hitomi's blush. Hitomi just couldn't believe it. She had assumed that Allen would want nothing to do with her. For one, he was two years older then her and two,he was part of the popular crowd. Hitomi wasn't exactly Miss Social Butterfly.

"Maybe I'll see you around at the beach tomorrow." Allen smiled warmly as they crossed paths.

Too stunned to say anything, Hitomi just nodded her head.

"Okay, see you around then." Allen waved cheerfully and continued to walk with Dryden along one of the campground roads.

_End of Flashback…_

Merle rolled her eyes. _This is making me sick. Boys, boys, boys. That's all they've been talking about. What's so great about them anyways?_

"Girls! Time to get to bed. Lights out." Mrs Fanel called from outside. Hitomi suppressed her giggling to turn the flashlight off.

"Okay Mom. Goodnight." She poked Yukari to make her stop giggling. It only resulted in more giggles. "Goodnight Yukari" she laughed.

"Goodnight Hitomi." Yukari beamed happily. She snuggled deeper into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

The two girls drifted gracefully into their dreams. It had been a rocky day that ended in the start of a promising friendship.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Van stared gloomily up at the grey and hazy tent roof. He had tried just shutting his eyes peacefully to fall asleep, that's what he normally did but sleep would not come. So he just stared up into the blurry nothingness of the tent roof. Van didn't know why but he kept thinking about Hitomi and the fact that she was still royally pissed off at him. He just wanted to apologize even if he thought that he didn't do anything wrong. _It was an accident._ He rolled over in agitation. _Why should I care? It was just a stupid doll. _He couldn't get her sad hurt face out of his head though. Her eyes were so large, brilliant green, and expressive. They were just staring at him. Accusing him. Piercing him. _I guess that doll meant a lot to her._ Van sighed deeply and tried closing his eyes. That's when it hit him. _I could get her a new doll. Maybe she'd forgive me then._ His mouth curved into a content smile._ Then she won't be mad anymore…_

" Girls are trouble." He muttered to himself as he closed his eyes With the guilt lifted from his shoulders he momentarily fell asleep.

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_

Everyone woke to a bright and very sunny morning. Van, Hitomi, Merle, Seth, and Yukari sat at the picnic table looking more asleep than not. Slowly and methodically, they munched on their bland cereal. It was relatively quiet and a bit tense. Anyone who was looking from a distance could plainly see why. The girls had laid claim to one side of the table and the boys, the opposite side. Clearly, there were some gender clashes going on. Hitomi quickly swallowed the remainders of her orange juice and pushed her empty bowl away.

"Hey Yukari, do you want to go swimming at the beach today?"

For Yukari it was clearly a no-brainer. " Sure!" She exclaimed happily, pushing her bowl away in imitation of Hitomi. The two were barely there for even 2 seconds. They grabbed their towels off of the clothing line and they headed out for the beach. ( AN: they were already wearing their bathing suits underneath their clothes. When you're camping, you pretty much always have your swim suit on. At least I always do. Meh) Merle stared intently at her bowl of cereal and swished the contents around with her spoon to look interested in it.

"Ummmm Merle, aren't you going with them?" Seth cautiously asked.

Merle jumped slightly and met his cautious gaze with her own startled one. " No, I don't feel like swimming right now." She lowered her head to stare at her breakfast again.

" I'm sorry." Seth blurted out quietly. He looked away in embarrassment. Van rolled his chocolate brown eyes and sighed.

" I'm sorry that I said that you had cooties, Merle." Merle lifted her head and stared at him with bright glistening brown eyes.

" Really?" Her bottom lip started to tremble.

Seth nodded solemnly. " Will you forgive me?"

Bowls, cutlery, cups… Everything in Merle's path, unceremoniously clattered to the floor. To Seth's utter shook, Merle threw herself across the table in order to embrace Seth in a very tight hug.

" I forgive you." She wailed. "Friends?"

Seth patted her back awkwardly. " Friends." He confirmed.

Van shook his head and disbelief while slowly getting up from the picnic table.

"You're cleaning this up you know?" Was his only comment.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rest of the day could be described as pretty much just peachy. Van, Seth, and Merle did their own thing. They hung out by the docks, did a little bit of walking around, and they stopped by at the general store for an ice cream ( Folken's treat). Van even followed through with his plan to buy Hitomi a new Barbie doll. He caught a ride with his mother and Mrs Kanzaki into town and bought her a new one. Well, his mom paid for it in exchange for Van giving his mom his allowance for the next couple weeks. When they got back, he shyly gave the Barbie to Hitomi and apologized for breaking her doll in the first place. (Even though it was an accident). Hitomi naturally forgave him and was no longer mad. However she never let Van within 10 feet of her Barbies again.

A few days later Yukari had to leave. They parted with many tears but they were calmed by the fact that they were sure to see each other again. Just in case though they exchanged phone numbers. Little did they know Yukari was moving into the vacant house just down the street.

The rest of the camping trip went well with a few minor arguments between Van and Hitomi. She was especially mad when Van thought it would be funny to push her off the dock and into the lake while she was waving happily to Allen. She screamed shrilly at Van as she spluttered in the water. Folken and Sora laughed at them from the beach. It really was a hilarious sight to see. When Hitomi finally got up onto the dock again, Van ran like hell with a sly grin on his face. The flustered Hitomi gave chase but lost him when Van hid himself up a tree. (must be a family thing). He didn't come down until Hitomi was thoroughly calmed down.

So, with their little camping adventure finished the two families returned home and life went on as usual.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Six years later and life went on as usual. Okay, not as usual. Toys were outgrown, people left town and others moved in, and the children were slowly moving closer to adulthood. Hitomi and Van found themselves entering their freshman high school year (grade 10) meanwhile, Seth and Merle entered their second year of middle school ( grade 8). Well, as their moms always proclaimed " They sure do grow up fast."

Life really was hectic for them all. Hitomi and Yukari juggled homework with track meet practice and a social life on a daily basis, Van could usually be found at the local dojo if he wasn't glued to his computer screen playing the odd computer games and listening to music, and Seth was trying his best to pick up his grades. Last year he almost failed math and history, and he wasn't that strong on writing essays either.

As for Merle, she seemed the most carefree of the bunch. She really didn't have much to worry about. She did well in school and excelled in the arts. Merle loved to paint, draw, and work with clay. However, she was under constant pressure to do well from her mother. Varie wanted her only daughter to be successful in life and she always tried to shape her into 'a proper lady'. Merle knew her mother's goal for her and being the free sprit she was, she rebelled against it. Starting with her hair. To Varies's astonishment and horror, Merle came home one day with vibrant pink hair. Oh how she screamed! Merle stood her ground and stubbornly refused to change it So it stayed pink, after a very lengthy discussion with her parents. Her father thought that her hair was perfectly fine pink and finally convinced his wife to tolerate it.

Folken finished his schooling and became a teacher, of all the careers out there. He claimed to be an expert when it came to dealing with kids, since he had to handle siblings that were much younger then him. Unfortunately, he had to move out of town in order to get a teaching job. Sora, his girlfriend of seven years naturally went with him and they moved in together. He was sorely missed by everyone and came to visit whenever possible.

0000000000000000000000000000

Hitomi lounged across her bed with her head slumped over the edge. She stared mindlessly at her upside down bedroom while chatting on the phone to Yukari. The girls were looking forward to the weekend. The first month of school just flew by for them. They couldn't believe it was already October.

"No Yukari! If you like him that much you should say something….uhuh, uhuh. Really? Wow, that's unbelievable! Well Yukari, you should just--" She stopped in mid-sentence.

There was a knock at her door. Assuming the worst case scenario, Hitomi grabbed a pillow from off her bed and focused her attention onto the door. She was prepared for anything her brother, Seth was ready to throw at her, whether it was some random object or an insult of any kind.

The brass knob turned suspiciously slow. Hitomi braced herself for his entrance.

" Hitomi! Hitomi! Are you there?" Yukari complained from the other end of the phone.

" Yeah, just give me a second…"

The door swung open to reveal an unsure Van towering in the doorway.

"Oh it's just you…" Hitomi dropped the pillow down slightly in disappointment.

" Okay, what is it with girls and talking on the phone? It's Yukari again right? Why don't you just invite her over? She lives just down the street." Van's eyes took in the surroundings of her room as he casually strolled into her room. He took a seat at her desk.

Hitomi stared at him in puzzlement. " That's none of your business! What do you want, Van?" Her hand reached out in search of the dropped pillow.

"Just looking for Merle."

She rolled her eyes " Obviously she's not here. She's probably playing video games with Seth as usual. You know that as well as I do." She stated in a as-a-matter-of-factly voice. Van just sat there. _He still can't take a hint._ She sighed.

"Aren't you going to go look for her? That's why you're here right?"

Van shrugged in response. "There's no hurry. What's so wrong about spending time with one of my friends?"

Hitomi straightened from her upside down position. "You mean a person who barely tolerates you when you say 'friend' right?"

Van chuckled " You could say that. Whatever, it doesn't matter because frankly, you're stuck with me." He pulled out his Discman out of the font of his baggy red hoodie and snapped the earphones into his ears. He clicked his music on and put his feet up onto her desk much to her annoyance.

"Fine you can stay, whatever I don't care but…GET YOUR FEET OFF OF MY DESK!" Hitomi shot him a death glare that convinced him to put his feet down. Once he'd done that, she turned her attention to Yukari, patiently waiting on the phone still.

" Is Van over again?"

"Yeah, what a bother."

"But he is kinda cute."

"Only if you don't know how annoying he is."

"I guess you'd know better then I would." Yukari laughed

"Yeah, yeah. So, are you going to ask Miguel out or what?"

" I really don't know, Hitomi. I like him but I don't know if I like him that much."

" I say you should just ask him out. He's always talking to you during math. If it doesn't work out then no big deal."

" I don't know Hitomi…"

"Just think about it. Are we still on for shopping tomorrow?"

"Aren't we always? I really need new shoes…"

Hitomi sighed "Yukari, you always get new shoes."

" So? Nothing wrong with that."

" But your closet is full to bursting with just shoes! Maybe you should get rid of a few pairs."

Yukari gasped "How can you even suggest that? You can never have too many pairs!"

" Don't you think you're getting a bit obsessed with them?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Guilty as charged."

"_Yukari are you still on the phone? Time to get off. I need help with supper. You can call Hitomi later. Yukari?" _A muffled voice chimed in the background

" Well, looks like I gotta go. I'll call you back in a few. Talk to ya later."

" Okay, bye Yukari."

"Bye"

Hitomi turned her cordless phone off with a cute and delicate beep. Van was still reclining in Hitomi's chair, tapping his fingers on her desk in beat with the music. Hitomi placed the phone onto her night stand and meandered about her room. That's when she found the fact Van was here odd.

"Hey Van?" She tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

" Yeah?" He paused his music to listen to her.

" It's Friday, so how come you're not at Gaddess' house or something?"

Van nonchalantly shrugged. "He's gone paintballing with Allen." With that, he smoothly turned his music back on and set the volume to max.

_This is what I get for trying to have an intelligent conversation with him._ Hitomi swallowed the urge to strangle him and yanked on of his earphones out. Van looked up with a startled expression.

"And why didn't you go with them? You love paintballing."

Van shrugged yet again "I didn't want to." He said flatly. Van recovered his earphone and was in the mid-motion of placing it back into his ear, when Hitomi caught his wrist.

"You just can't stand Allen. Am I right?" He stared at her in complete silence. He didn't even shrug.

"I knew it." She let go of his wrist and smiled smugly.

"So what if I do?" He tensed and waited for Hitomi to respond. He had a feeling that she was going to say something that would most likely make him look foolish.

"Why are you letting that get in the way of spending time with Gaddess? Huh?" She shook her head in disappointment. " Here's where I say that I never expected this from you."

Van opened his mouth to say something but he stopped himself.

"So, what do you plan on doing if Allen wants to tag along again?" Hitomi leaned in closer and waited for an answer.

Van's fingers itched to put his earphones back on so he could crank his music up to max in order to ignore Hitomi. He wouldn't do that however because she'd probably do something drastic like attack him. He didn't want his Discman harmed.

"I don't know." He thought that was the right answer or maybe not but what else was he supposed to say?

Hitomi slapped her forehead. "Man, you seriously have problems handling social issues. You know that don't you?"

Van pushed his chair back and stood up to his full height. "This coming from the girl who can barely utter a word to that Amano guy. Why don't you just get it over with and ask him out? You know you want to." He smirked.

Hitomi gasped and found herself unable to say anything to that.

"Come on, I know you like him."

A rush of embarrassment and slight rage tinted her cheeks red. " I…I…You! I can't believe you!"

"Ditto." He said simply. He grinned with triumph and popped his earphones back into his ears. He was about to turn the volume up when he thought he heard a growl. He looked up at her again and felt afraid. Her devilish green eyes were narrowed and her jaw was clenched unforgivably tight.

She looked about ready to do murder and her target was most defiantly him. Van now regretted making her angry.

"Hitomi, calm down…." He stepped away slowly and fearfully. Van literally jumped when ran into the chair behind him.

His eyes popped when he saw her open-faced palm swinging up to meet his unprotected cheek. He swallowed. It was too late. He flinched as her indignant slap stung his face

"What is it with men being completely uncouth meatheads!" She shrieked at the flabbergasted Van.

Van clutched his cheek in awe. He was still shocked at the fact that she actually slapped him.

"Oh my god! I can't believe I did that…" She cupped a astonished hand to her mouth. "Not that you didn't deserve it but still…I'm so sorry."

Van rubbed his ruby red cheek and sat down. " It's okay. Ow, this stings. Where'd you learn to slap like that?"

"Here, let me get some ice for that." She made her way towards the door feeling slightly guilty.

Van ruffled his thick mane of shaggy hair. "I'm sorry." He smiled shyly. Hitomi turned abruptly to face him.

"It's okay." She felt considerably less angry now. Hitomi turned to leave for ice again.

"Hitomi?" She turned around again, slightly annoyed this time.

"What is it now Van?" Hitomi placed her hands onto her hips.

"Next time could you warn me?" His smile turned from shy to crafty.

"Warn you about what?" She arched an amused eyebrow at him.

"You know, that time of month? I'd kinda like to know if I'm dealing with a hormonally unbalanced time bomb." He pointed to his cheek for emphasis.

Hitomi blinked and then smiled. "Very funny, Fanel."

She turned around for the last time and made her way down the hallway.

_How did he know? No, he couldn't have known. Could he have?_She shook her head and continued walking.


	5. Groceries and girl stuff

**Chapter 5-- Groceries and Girl Stuff**

Mrs Kanzaki dug into her coat pocket for her keys. She heard a familiar jingle and brought them out. She plunged them into the lock of the house door only to find out that it didn't need unlocking. _Hitomi, you were supposed to lock it after you… _Sighing she stepped into the house and placed her purse on the oak table against the entranceway wall.

"Hitomi, Seth…I'm home!" She walked into the kitchen to find Van sipping on some pop while listening to his blaring music.

"Why hello Van. I'm surprised to see you here." She looked inside the fridge see what she needed to buy for supper. _It's Friday isn't it? _Glancing at the calendar, she nodded to herself.

"Van dear, don't you normally go to your friends on Friday?"

Van looked up and took his head phones off. "Hey Mrs Kanzaki, can I stay for supper?" Obviously he didn't hear her question.

"Sure you can, you're always welcome here but why are you here? Normally you're at Gaddess' house on Friday." She took a seat at the table across from the youth.

"Well, Gaddess has other plans ,Mom's gone to visit Folken, and my Dad's on a business trip so I thought I could crash here for the night. Mom should be back tomorrow evening. Is it alright if I stay?"

Mrs Kanzaki smiled " Of course you can Van. Merle's already staying here for today. Your mom asked. It won't hurt if one more stays."

"Thank you"

"No problem." Mrs Kanzaki got up to fix herself a nice cup of tea. After a long day at the office she deserved it. She glanced at Van. He seemed to be just staring off into space with a blank expression on his face.

"Is everything alright, Van?" Her face held motherly concern.

Van snapped back to reality. He blinked in her direction in slight surprise. " Yes…." He replied carefully. " Why do you ask?" His shoulders became tense and he found himself on the edge of nervousness.

Mrs Kanzaki smiled on of those polite and cheerful smiles. "Oh, it's nothing dear…" But on the contrary she suspected something was very much amiss. Mrs Fanel had told her that everything had been arranged for Van to stay over at Gaddess' house for the night. _What could possibly be bothering him?_ Van's eyes followed her warily as she made her way towards the living room entrance.

"There you are Hitomi, did you have a good day at school?"

Hitomi ripped her attention away from the TV. " Hey mom. School was same as usual although we are supposed to be having a new student coming next week…..I think. So, what's for supper?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that…hm what should we have?" She meandered back into the kitchen to look around some more. She pulled out some pasta, meat, cheese, and various veggies and herbs out of the cupboard. She opened a few more in a vain search for more ingredients. Tapping her lip she took a moment to think. Van remained slumped in one of the kitchen chairs, listening to his music again with his eyes closed.

"Well I was thinking about making some spaghetti Hitomi but I'm going to need a few more things in order to make it. Would you run over to the store and get them for me?" She yelled towards the living room.

"Sure. What do you need me to get?" Hitomi inquired as she got off the couch.

"I need you to get me three cans of tomato paste, a cucumber, some celery, orange juice, and some salad dressing…Here I'll make a list." Grabbing a post it note from the fridge, she scribbled the items down in her flowery hand.

" Is there anything else you need?" Hitomi strolled into the kitchen lazily.

"I don't think so dear…" Mrs Kanzaki's eyes travelled to the shaggy black-haired youth. Her mouth curved into a small secretive smile.

"Why don't you take Van along with you, Hitomi?"

Upon hearing his name Van perked up and shut his music off.

"Huh?" They responded unintelligently together. Hitomi was surprised that her mom suggested taking Van with her and Van well, he didn't hear Mrs Kanzaki in the first place.

"Take Van with you. It'll give you two something to do together without fighting." She started to chuckle softly.

"Sure, I've got nothing else better to do." Van shrugged in an I don't care fashion.

"No, no, no, and no. No way. I'm not going with you. I can manage this on my own thank you very much." Hitomi folded her arms and prepared to ignore Van.

"Hitomi….Just take him with you. It won't do any harm." Her mother sounded a bit fed-up with her daughter's childish behaviour. With the patience of a saint she herded her to the front door. Van silently followed their example.

"There you go!" Mrs Kanzaki put on a pleasantly cheerful grin as she handed Hitomi some money and the grocery list. Hitomi rolled her eyes and little sigh escaped her. She accepted the money and grocery list from her mother and stuffed it into the pocket of her coat. Glumly she slipped her coat on and waited by the door for Van.

"Didn't you bring a jacket, Van?" Mrs Kanzaki pointed at his red hoodie/

Van looked down at his baggy hoodie. His inky hair spilled over his facial features. He shook his head.

"No."

"But aren't you going to be cold?"

He looked down at his hoodie again.

"No"

Hitomi sighed with exasperation. "He'll be fine mom. Can we go now?" She tapped her foot with impatience. Hitomi wanted to get this over with.

"Alright you two, off you go then" She shook her head in dismay. _Teenagers_

They stepped outside into the nippy October wind. It always amazed Hitomi how warm and welcoming the warm colour of Autumn leaves were in comparison to the chilly weather. With no time to lose, Hitomi started taking her normal quick strides down the street. Van stumbled after her.

"Hitomi…?" Van smiled sheepishly

"Yeah, what is it now?"

"Where are we going exactly"

Hitomi laughed despite her attempts to keep it in " We're going to the store Van. Where else?" Her eyes glittered with moist amusement. Van found himself drinking them in with a dumbfounded expression.

"Oh" He stammered and quickly averted his gaze. " Oh, I thought she just wanted to get us out of the house or something." Van chuckled and Hitomi rolled her big emerald eyes at him.

"Get you out of the house more likely. You're the little hell raiser after all." She grinned, forgetting that she was slightly mad at him.

"I am not!" He protested like a five-year old.

"Oh please Van, spare me the innocent act. Who convinced Merle to fish out my goldfish out of my aquarium. Who recently put coloured chalk into my laundry? Who rolled toilet paper down our halls to see how far they'd go? Who feed Merle and Seth an insane amount of sugar before going to the library? Who shaved a peace sign on the back of Folken's head while he was sleeping and video taped it! Well Van?" She smirked and smugly waited for a reply.

"Well, ummmm yeah. You do have a point there." Van grinned from ear to ear.

Hitomi gave him a playful shove. "What are you smiling about?" She half laughed.

"Oh nothing….I was just thinking…" Van shoved his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie.

"About what?" She gave him another shove. " Tell me."

"You don't stay mad at me long do you. I always do something that pisses you off but you never stay mad at me for very long." A grin curved his mouth and he waited for another shove from Hitomi.

"Yeah, I guess so. You've got your mom to thank for that." She continued to smile with amusement.

Van blinked. " Um yeah. I guess I do." He rubbed the back of his head _She didn't push me like I thought she would…_

They continued to walk in relative silence. Their destination was located just around the corner. Hitomi allowed her eyes to wander to the not so green scenery. Fanalia was home to a seemingly endless supply of trees. At this time of year they were all shedding their bright lively colourful leaves. She loved autumn but not as much as she loved winter.

Hitomi waltzed into the store with Van in a good mood. She ignored Van's bored stare and handed him a shopping basket.

"Here ya go. You might as well make yourself useful." Producing the shopping list from her jacket pocket she lead the way towards the produce section. Van shuffled his feet after her.

After a good 15 minutes of following her around Van filed a complaint. "Hitomi, aren't we done yet? What else do we need to get?" He huffed with a pout.

"I just need to get one more thing…" She lead him down a new isle.

"Here let me see the list." He wanted insurance that his boredom wouldn't last long.

"Fine, whatever." She tossed the list into his shopping basket and continued her quick pace. Van walked blindly after her, reading the list. After doing that, he checked the basket. He came to a startling conclusion.

"But Hitomi, we already have everything on the list!" He exclaimed as he looked up.

"Ya I know…" Hitomi stopped in her tracks.

"Well then why are we still here? We have everything so lets go." He grumbled to himself. _Why has she stopped? _Van turned slowly to see what Hitomi was looking at.

His mouth dropped in pure horror. He tried to say something…anything but it only came out as inaudible squeaks. Van was very afraid. Very. Any boy his age would be. Tampons, pads, and other feminine products stared at him menacingly from the racks across from him. Hitomi calmly bent down and picked up a box of tampons. Oblivious, she dropped the box into the shopping basket. Van looked down at the horrible box with dread.

"Okay Van, we can go now. Van?" He stood there in awkward silence.

"We can go now. Why are you so pale."

Van looked up with a drained face." It's nothing." He squeaked out hoarsely.

Hitomi shrugged. " Alright then let's go." Van held the basket as far away from himself as possible and followed Hitomi to the check-out line. _Why me? Why didn't I just go to Gaddess' house? Dealing with Allen doesn't look so bad now…_

He gulped and helped Hitomi put everything on the conveyer belt.Well everything, except for that…


	6. The Aftermath, and more Shopping

**Chapter 6-- The Aftermath, and more Shopping**

"Are you going to be okay sweetie?" Mrs Kanzaki cooed before bursting into full head-tilted laughter once more.

"I told you already, I'm fine." Van grumbled. He sat cross-legged, arms folded at the kitchen table, glaring his most evil glare at the two females taunting him. _Note to self: Never go shopping with Hitomi if it can be helped._

"I'm sorry dear, it's just so funny. How'd I raise such a cruel daughter? Hitomi, I still can't believe Van followed you down aisle 4. You're father won't even go down there." Mrs Kanzaki wiped a tear from her eye.

_They still think it's just so damn hilarious…Why can't they just get over it? They've been going on about it for the past half-hour. _Van sighed deeply. _I should of gone to Gaddess' house… _

Hitomi laughed. "I didn't think it was such a big deal. It's only a box of tampons and besides Van has a sister. I didn't think he'd mind at all."

Van finally spoke up. "What do you mean exactly? Merle doesn't even need that kind of stuff yet."

Hitomi and her mom immediately started laughing again leaving Van quite thoroughly confused. "What's so funny now?"

"Oh my God Van, you're so oblivious!" Hitomi spat out between laughs. " Merle's been using that 'Stuff', as you put it for at least three months now is it?"

Van's eyes bulged " What!" He stammered. _They have to be joking…I hope._

"No need to scare the poor boy, Hitomi. He's been through so much already today." Mrs Kanzaki chuckled, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder for support.

"Don't tell me you didn't know!"

"Do I really need to know?"

"She's your sister."

"Yeah, but I don't really need to know about _that._ That's girl stuff."

Van couldn't believe he was even having this conversation. Mrs Kanzaki chuckled fondly at the two arguing away as usual. Hitomi opened her mouth wide to belt something out but her mother intervened.

"Alright, that's enough Hitomi. You too Van." She paused for a moment to recover from all the laughing. "Hitomi you're going shopping with Yukari tomorrow right? Take Merle and Seth with you. I don't want them glued to that video game all day tomorrow and you know as well as I do that the won't go anywhere unless they're forced."

"But Mom…"

"Please Hitomi, will you do this for me? They don't have to follow you around. They can just hang around or something. All you have to do is check up on them whenever you can. It won't interfere with your shopping. I promise."

"Mom…" Hitomi whined.

"Van, you might as well go too. You're not staying here all day by yourself. I don't want to come home to a levelled house…"

Van sighed. _Oh this is just great. Shopping with Hitomi…again. Why can't things go the way I want them too? _He stared up at the ceiling in despair.

"But I don't want to be babysitting them all day! They get in too much trouble!" Hitomi protested.

"They can't be that bad. Van will be there too. I'm sure he can keep them out of your hair."

_Okay, I've got my game plan set. Stay as far away as possible from the girls. Maybe go to future shop with Merle and Seth. Yeah, I think I'll do that. They won't go berserk there. Man, they love those games way too much for their own good…_

Hitomi snapped her fingers inches away from Van's face. "Gaea to Van!"

Van jolted back to reality. " ummmm yeah?"

"If you keep those kids out of my way, I'll give you a cookie." Hitomi said in her most convincing voice.

"Depends what kind." Van fingered his chin thoughtfully.

"The really big double chocolate chip kind." She smiled hopefully.

"The really big chewy cookies with hunks of chocolate chips in them that melt in your mouth?" Van smirked.

Hitomi nodded. "Yep, the ones you love so much." She added.

He started licking his lips just thinking about them. "Only if I get three…"

" Three? Isn't that a bit too much?" She placed her hands onto her hips.

" Not at all! That's the bare minimum. You wouldn't understand. That only leaves me with one for each hand and one for later." He whined like a little kid, hoping that would make her give in. To really push the envelope he stuck out his lower lip in a deep pout.

"Okay, fine. Three it is. Remember you'll only get them if you keep them out of my hair." She warned while Van grinned like a madman.

"Deal." He offered her his hand and she gladly shook

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Saturday..._

Air conditioning gushed into Hitomi's face as she smiled at the marble tiled haven laid out before her. The mall was practically a second home to her. Taking in a deep relaxing breath she linked arms with her friend.

" Let's go Yukari." She took a few steps forward but stopped when she noticed her friend was lagging behind.

" Hitomi aren't we forgetting something?" She nodded sharply towards Van, Seth, and Merle standing at the mall entrance.

" Oh yeah…" Hitomi turned to face the threesome. " Stay out of trouble, don't bother us, and have fun. Remember the deal Van?" He nodded.

"Okay then see you guys later!" She waved cheerfully and walked off with Yukari.

" How about we go kill some time at Future shop?" Van ruffled the back of his head. Seth and Merle nodded eagerly in unison before dashing away. Van sighed and nonchalantly walked after them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hitomi this is just what I've been looking for!" Yukari was giddy with excitement as she held up a pair of bright red heels into the air. Hitomi smiled and practically ran over.

"Those will go perfectly with your costume for the party!"

"I know! This is going to be great even if Millerna is hosting it at her place."

Hitomi shrugged. "It's not like we have to talk to her. Her house is huge. It's practically a mansion."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Yukari folded the tissue paper around the treasured red heels and carefully placed them into their box. " This party is gonna be huge. Everyone's talking about how she invited almost everyone at school."

Hitomi whistled. "Well, her house is big enough, it's possible."

Yukari grinned as she made her way to the check-out. "Yeah. Say Hitomi, who do you plan on taking with you to the party?" She wiggled her eyebrows knowingly. Yukari laughed when Hitomi's face went absolutely beet-red.

"I don't know yet…" She looked down at her feet. " Hey, what about you?"

Yukari smirked. "Well, I was hoping to ask Allen to but most likely he's going with someone else…Damn playboy."

"What about Miguel?" Hitomi inquired. Yukari just giggled. " Well?" She smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just going to have to ask him." She sighed. "You better think of someone to ask soon. The party is only a few weeks away. You don't want to end up taking Van." She teased

Hitomi gasped indignantly. " Yukari!"

Her friend just ignored her. "I bet that witch Millerna is taking Allen…" She mumbled to herself. Sighing, she placed her shoes onto the check-out counter. " After I pay for this how about we go for lunch?"

Hitomi rolled her eyes. " Sure."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The food court was buzzing with talk as it usually was on a Saturday. Hitomi and Yukari bought their normal burger with fries and sat down at their usual table.

"Okay, I've got it all figured out now Hitomi." She announced while munching through her fries.

"Got what figured out?" Hitomi blinked.

" You know, who you should take to the party." Yukari whispered in a tone that border-lined conspiracy. She beckoned Hitomi closer. "Dilandau's been looking your way with this dazed expression lately. It wouldn't hurt to ask him." She winked.

"Yukari have you forgotten he's the leader of that damn gang that wanders the school halls?" She hissed. " No way am I getting involved with all that! Who knows what kind of stuff they get into after-school. Whenever I think about it I picture this neon 'Danger' sign in my head." Hitomi looked bewildered. "Not to mention the guy is a bloody pyro!"

"It was just a suggestion, calm down." Yukari sighed. "How about asking Guimel?"

"No."

"Dallet?"

"No."

"Shesta?"

"No."

"Viole?"

"No! Yukari, how come all the guys you've named are part of Dilandau's little gang?" Hitomi glared.

"Because they're all so cute…" Seeing Hitomi's not so amused expression she sighed again. " Okay Fine…" She continued again.

"How about asking Dryden?"

"No."

"Gaddess?"

"No! He's Van's friend. No way I'd ask him. It'd be awkward."

"Katz?"

"No! Okay how about I think about it and then tell you?" Hitomi pleaded.

"Fine, but I do expect to hear a name and soon." Yukari smiled as she picked up her hamburger. Hitomi felt grateful for the silence and started to dig into her own lunch.

"Hey that looks good, mind if I join you?" Hitomi turned around to find a hopeful Van leaning over her shoulder.

"Van! Aren't you supposed to be watching Seth and Merle? I thought I told you not to bother us." She demanded.

Van shrugged."Trust me they're pretty occupied with this new game at Future shop and as I remember, the deal was to keep them out of your hair. You didn't say anything about me. They're not here so you still owe me those cookies."

"So, that's how you convinced him to take Merle and Seth." Yukari smirked.

"Yeah, so shove over love." He teased as he motioned her to move over. She did after a moment of grumbling. Van smiled with contentment as he started munching on Hitomi's fries. Yukari giggled at the sight. Hitomi's face was priceless. "No ketchup Hitomi?" Van's eyes searched the table for the red condiment. Hitomi's eye twitched with anger.

"Here Van." Yukari said in a chipper voice as she offered him a packet of ketchup.

His eyes lit up. " Thanks Yukari!" He happily accepted the packet from her and wasted no time in smothering Hitomi's fries with the red sauce.

"Aren't you going to have some Hitomi?" Van picked up a fry dripping with Ketchup and popped it into his mouth.

"No, I seem to have lost my appetite…" She rubbed her throbbing temples.

He shrugged. "More for me then."

Yukari leaned in closer with a smile glued to her face. "So Van, who are you taking to Millerna's party?"

Van stretched lazily . "No one." He answered coolly. "Should I be taking someone?"

"Well, most people are." She slouched back in her seat. Yukari's hazel eyes drifted across the food court. Suddenly, her mouth dropped and her eyes went wide as saucers.

"Hitomi! Look, it's Allen and he's not alone." Yukari was on the edge of her seat with excitement. It was true, Gaddess was walking along with him.

"Over here!" Yukari waved happily to them. Van and Hitomi groaned and slipped further down in their seats.

"Hey!" Allen waved back and they headed over.

"So this is where you've been all day, Van." Gaddess took a seat beside him. "Is shopping with Hitomi more important than hanging out with me now?"

Van snorted "Of course Gaddess! It's way more important." He retorted sarcastically.

"So you've been spending the weekend with Hitomi?" Gaddess asked as slid into the seat next to a very ecstatic Yukari.

"Yeah." Van picked up Hitomi's half-eaten hamburger and started to chop down on it. Hitomi crossed her arms and stared at him disapprovingly. Van looked more interested in eating than anything else.

Allen squished his eyebrows down in though. "Are you two dating? I thought that you guys were just friends." Van coughed and almost choked on Hitomi's hamburger. Hitomi's green eyes went wide in surprise.

Yukari giggled behind her hand. " No, they're just friends Allen." She grinned cheerfully and offered him some of her fries. Smiling, he politely took a handful. Van smacked his chest several times, his coughing fit slowing to a crawl.

"Are you alright Van?" Hitomi radiated concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He cleared his throat.

She smiled and gave him a playfully punch on the shoulder. "Maybe you should refrain from shoving that much of my hamburger into your mouth."

"Do they always hang out like that?" Allen whispered across the table to Gaddess.

He shrugged. "Yeah, didn't you know? Their families have been close friends since forever." Yukari nodded in agreement.

"I see." Allen nodded. He seemed very interested about the topic.

Gaddess' eyes flickered with amusement. "So Van, you followed Hitomi around shopping all day? You poor thing."

Van brushed his wild black bangs from his face. "Very funny. It wasn't so bad considering that I only had to watch Seth and Merle." His posture screamed cool and collected.

"Yeah, today wasn't so bad for him. He went shopping with me yesterday. You should of saw his face when we…" Hitomi didn't finish her sentence. She burst into a fit of non-stop uncontrollable laughter. Allen, Gaddess, and Yukari stared at Hitomi with amazement.

"What's so funny now, Hitomi?" Yukari blinked with puzzlement. Van looked away and hoped that they wouldn't see his bright red face. He stayed as quiet as a mouse.

"Van are you blushing? What happened yesterday?" Gaddess lightly laughed as Van blush became deeper. Upon seeing his red face, Hitomi laughed even harder. She clutched her burning sides.

"It wasn't _that_ funny Hitomi…" Van mumbled. He tried to ignore the fact she was leaning against him for support.

"You have to tell me later Hitomi if it really is that funny." Yukari mused.

Van groaned. _This is just great. Now she's going to tell everyone. I should have known this would be somehow used against me. _He swallowed when Hitomi stopped vibrating against his shoulder. _Here it comes…_

Hitomi took a pause from laughing to think. She looked at Van with a giddy smile, eyes madly sparkling with spontaneous mischief. "Van, how about I don't tell them in exchange for the cookies I owe you?"

Van gasped mocking. "Never Hitomi! I would _never_ give my precious cookies up. You can go ahead and tell them, I don't care."

"Come on, you do care."

"Do not."

"Well then, if you do care why don't you tell them? If you do I'll give you twice the amount of cookies I owe you." Van's face became serious at the offer.

Gaddess laughed heartily. "Oh, he'll do it now." He leaned back into his seat and waited for Van to tell everyone.

"I bet he won't." Allen said as he watched Van contemplate the situation. "He seemed way to embarrassed when Hitomi mentioned them going shopping."

" I'll take you on then. Van would do anything for cookies."

"Okay fine. The loser has to go to Millerna's party wearing a nurse costume." Allen declared.

"Dude, you're totally digging yourself into a pretty damn deep hole there. I accept, but you're going to regret it." Gaddess warned with a smirk.

"Oh, I doubt I will." Allen said with an air of haughtiness. It was quiet as everyone waited for Van's decision.

"Alright Hitomi, you win." Van heaved a sigh. " Where to start…Well, Hitomi's mother sent us out on an errand to get some groceries and well…We finished getting everything on the list but Hitomi said that she still needed to get one more thing. I ended up following her down…Aisle four." He winced in remembrance.

"AISLE FOUR!" Yukari, Allen, and Gaddess exclaimed in unison.

"Hitomi you evil little monster!" Yukari busted into helpless laughter.

"You actually went down there and survived? I avoid that place like the plague." Allen stared at Van in wonder.

"Wow, you're the first guy I've ever heard of going down there." Gaddess stated with his mouth slightly open in astonishment.

Hitomi ruffled Van's shaggy head of hair. "Guess I better go get you those cookies. I can't believe you actually told them." She shook her head fondly at him before getting up.

Van grinned cheekily at Allen. "Guess we'll be seeing you around, nurse Allen." He laughed sharply and wandered after Hitomi. _mmm cookies._

Poor Allen looked mortified, his face becoming dramatically pale as Gaddess smirked smugly.


	7. Jealousy?

AN: ur probably wondering why i'm updating so early. well, here's my excuse (omg, i can't belive i have to have an excuse for updating so early. _will you ever forgive me! _lol, jking of course) Well, you see the weather is kinda crumy and it's way to cold to go to the beach yet._ sigh..._ so yeah, i've pretty much been stuck at home for the past few days. i've been typing stuff up to ease the bordem. without further delay here's my update

Sweet Sixteen chapter 7

The rest of the day crawled by painfully slow for Hitomi and Van. They spent the rest of the afternoon lounging around, idly watching television. After they'd finished shopping, Allen offered to walk Hitomi and Yukari home. Van had put a quick end to that by calmly stating that there was no need for him to do so since he was going that way anyways. Secretly, Van just didn't like the way Allen was looking at Hitomi. He sincerely felt that it was his responsibility to protect her from all the perverts and playboys. Unfortunately for Allen, Van had already branded him a playboy and rightly so because…well he was a playboy. So, the two groups went their separate ways after Allen practically begged for Hitomi's number, which she gave him. Van clamped his fists into a tight ball and gritted his teeth, but he didn't say a word.

"Van, your mom just called. You can go home if you want to." Mrs Kanzaki called from downstairs.

Hitomi sighed. "Well, I guess I'll see you at school on Monday." She half mumbled into the pillow she was clutching to in boredom.

Van reached up into a stretch. "Who said I was going? There's nothing for me to do at home anyways." His mouth contorted into a yawn.

"So you're spending another night here? Oh, woe is me! I have to endure your presence for yet another day." She uncurled herself across the sofa as she pretended to faint.

"Hey, I've been good. I even watched Merle and Seth for you while you shopped your heart out with Yukari." To punctuate his sentence, Van poked Hitomi's stomach playfully. As a result, Hitomi's pillow rose up to meet his head.

"Keep your hands to yourself, pally." Hitomi gruffly warned.

"Spaz…" He mumbled.

"I heard that, Van!" To Hitomi, that deserved another squishy pillow smack. A sentence she carried out gladly.

"Okay, Okay! Would you cut that out? I'm trying to watch T.V here." He grabbed the pillow from her clutches and stashed it neatly behind the sofa. Least she get a hold of it again. Hitomi huffed with displeasure but she didn't utter a word. The house became silent minus the blaring television and the odd yells of triumph coming from the basement. Seth and Merle pooled their meagre allowances together to buy a game at Future Shop they'd been drooling over.

"Hitomi dear, phone." Mrs Kanzaki walked upstairs in search of her daughter. Hitomi sprung off the couch in order to meet her.

"Thanks mom." She accepted the phone from her and made her way back to the sofa.

"Let me guess, it's Allen right?" Van didn't look very pleased.

Hitomi shrugged. "She didn't say."

"_Hello?_"

"Oh, hey Yukari." Hitomi said cheerfully. Van visibly relaxed, letting go of a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"So, what's up?" Hitomi bounced back down on the sofa again. On the other end of the line, Yukari was talking way to fast for comprehension combined with extreme loudness.

It was ear-numbing enough that the very perplexed Hitomi had to hold the phone quite a ways away from her ear. She shared a confused glance with Van before going back to the phone.

"Wow, my ear hurts. Okay Yukari, settle down. Repeat that again but this time make it a tad bit slower and a little less loud."

Yukari took a deep breath in and started over again. "Uhuh, yeah. A note you say? What did it say?" Hitomi leaned back into the sofa and concentrated on slowly taking in what Yukari was saying. For a few moments, Van could of mistaken her for a statue, unblinking and unmoving.

"A note from a secret admirer! Get out! Are you serious? I wonder who it's from…" She began to pace the room in a hectic fashion. Hitomi was just bursting with happiness for Yukari. Van was becoming dizzy just watching her walk back and forth. Eventually, Hitomi's little pacing excursion lead her down the hall and into her bedroom.

Van sighed, rolling his eyes. _Yet another lengthy girlfriend to girlfriend talk. Doesn't surprise me in the least. Could have been worse…Allen could of called…_What was this feeling circulating through him? Could it be jealousy? Van felt his heartbeat become faster, more erratic. _No, I'm not jealous…I'm just worried about her. I mean, I should be right? I've known her since well…forever._

_Ding dong…_The doorbell rang cleanly through the air. Van straightened up from his slouch in semi-alarm. _Who could that be?_

"Hitomi could you get the door please. I'm to lazy to get up." Mrs Kanzaki yelled from the basement. Van heard Hitomi groan from down the hall.

"I'm in the middle of an important phone call. Van, could you get it for me please?"

"Sure, I've got it." Van jumped up off the couch and hurried to the door.

"Thanks a bunch."

"No problem." Van slowly turned the brass knob, opening the door with a click. He was very unprepared for what he was about to encounter.

"Is Hitomi around?" Allen Schezar coyly asked, grinning from ear to ear. Van jumped in shock. Calming down he gave Allen an intensely flat stare.

"What do you want?" Van's eyes narrowed with detest.

"To see Hitomi. Is she around?" Allen smiled brightly and tried looking around Van for her. Van naturally, blocked his way.

_So this is the kind of game your playing Schezar. You don't phone her but instead come straight to her door. You're a crafty one aren't you? Well two can play at that game… _

"She's not home." Van stated blankly.

"Oh, well where is she then? I'd like to talk to her, you know one-on-one." Allen looked thoroughly confused. "I could of swore she'd said that she'd be home." He wondered out loud.

"She's not home…" Van stated again this time with a venomous look. Allen laughed nervously.

"Okay then…I guess I'll just talk to her tomorrow or at school or something. Well, I'll see you later. Bye then." He started down the stairs almost desperate to get away from this very moody Van.

"Just a second there Schezar…" Van started holding onto the door with a vice-like grip.

"Yeah?" Allen turned sharply, causing his long golden locks to ripple.

"I'm watching you…" Van growled like an over-protective father.

"What!" Allen was starting to become frightened for his life. Van's gaze was so sharp and piercing. Allen gulped.

"You heard me…" Van practically snarled. "You may go now…Just remember what I said, Comprende? Oh, and by the way…Stay away from Hitomi." His stance was even menacing like he was ready to kick Allen's ass if he said anything different.

"Ummmm sure?" Allen squeaked as he slowly backed away. Van was really freaking him out. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Allen broke out into an odd sort of jog. Van laughed quietly to himself. _Score one: Van…Allen: zero. _He walked casually back inside and plopped himself back onto the couch. Unconsciously, Van started grinning like a content tiger. He felt very proud of himself.

"So who was at the door?" Hitomi inquired with a blissful smile stretching across her lips.

"Just an annoying salesman…That's all." Van said with a straight and very convincingly honest face.

"Oh good. I always hate answering the door when I know there's a salesman standing outside my door. To tell you the truth, I was kinda hoping it would be Allen. Strange, wouldn't you say? He's been awfully nice to me lately. I wouldn't mind spending some time with him." She mused, as she sat down beside him.

Van smirked. "Well if Allen was the one at the door, I would of told him off. He's such a well…A heart breaker. I don't want you getting involved with all of that."

Hitomi gasped. "You so would not tell him off! You wouldn't have the guts to and besides if he wants to ask me out on a date, I'll gladly accept. He's really cute" She blushed. "I can take care of my own so you shouldn't have to worry about me."

Van barked a laugh. "What about Amano? Don't you still like him? He's a pretty decent guy. Why don't you just ask him out? I'm serious this time."

Hitomi giggled. "Well then, why don't you just go ask him out? You seem pretty interested him.." Van's stare did not look amused.

"Hitomi…I'm serious! You're too good for Allen. He's too much of a player."

She looked at him for a moment, too stunned for words. Hitomi gave him a questioning glance. "When did you get so protective of me?" She teased.

"Ever since Allen showed up at your doorstep." He grumbled. Hitomi's eyebrow rose, inclining at an angle. "Figuratively not literally, Hitomi."

"You are worried about me then aren't you?" She spoke softly.

"Well, duh!" He blew his ink-black hair out of his eyes.

"That's so sweet of you!" She exclaimed as she dove into his chest in a big bear hug. Van gasped for air as he blushed. She was squeezing him too tightly for comfort.

"Losing…Air…" He gasped between breaths.

"Oh, sorry…" She loosened her hold on the poor boy. "I'm just surprised, that's all. I didn't know that you cared about my well-being so much." She confessed, still clinging to him.

"Well, I do. Is there anything wrong with that?" His cheeks were positively flushed. "Are you going to let go now?"

"What if I don't want to?" She said jokingly. Van tried wiggling out of her grasp but to no avail.

"Hitomi, let go!"

"No."

"Hitomi…" Van froze. It was too horrible for him for words. Merle stood at the entrance way of the living room, an inch away from crawling on the floor with laughter.

"Red lobster suits you, Van." Merle was referring to the nice red hue Van's face was turning. Hitomi broke the hug off and shot up to see who was speaking.

"It's not what you think!" Van blurted to his sister, making the situation worse. Meanwhile, Merle was too busy laughing. After taking a good look at his red face, Hitomi laughed along with her.

"What's so funny now?" Mrs Kanzaki came up stairs to see what was going on. She looked at the two teen-aged girls roaring with laughter and the red-cheeked boy. Shaking her head fondly, she came to a concluding statement. "Okay, scratch that…I don't want to know." She sighed and headed back downstairs.

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Mornings always came early for Hitomi. Especially Monday mornings. Waking up at 6am early. She didn't mind though since it was for track. Actually she thoroughly enjoyed doing track this early. It was peacefully, calming, and she could forget everything for a few moments and focus on one thing; Running. A great start to her day.

The scenery wasn't too shabby either. Purple hued clouds mixed with the dull grey-blue of the parking lot contrasted with the deep burgundy red of the running track. Hitomi smiled as she bent over to tie her shoelace.

"Hitomi hurry up! I have to meet mystery boy before practice remember?" Hitomi noticed that Yukari seemed very excitable of late.

"Okay, Yukari." She laughed. "Maybe I should go wait by the bleachers."

"No, don't be silly. You probably want to meet him too, don't you? Come on, I know you do. So would you just hurry up?" Yukari sighed in exasperation as she practically dragged Hitomi away. "He wanted me to meet him by the big willow just over there." She pointed across the field with glee.

"Yeah, I know Yukari. You told me all about it over the phone." Hitomi let Yukari drag her along. She figured that Yukari needed to get rid of this excess energy somehow. They waited by the willow for at least ten minutes. Yukari was twitching with anxiousness. Hitomi was becoming anxious just watching her. Footsteps crunched against cold October grass. Their heads swivelled towards the noise.

"Did I keep you waiting long, Yukari?"

"Amano?" Together, their mouths and eyes went wide.

AN: i know, a cliff but more will becoming soon so don't worry. COOKIES TO ALL WHO REVIEW! well not real cookies but i would give you real ones if i could. lol, i hope this chapter is a nice subsitute...thanks to all who reviewed already. thanks so much, reviews really make me happy. you guys all get cookies too. WITH icecream...lol...not real icecream, mind u...would if i could. :)


	8. Cookies and cocoa

AN: kinda short but I thought I'd post it anyways. J drop me a review and tell me what you thought

The person in front of them was indeed Amano. Short chin-length brown hair, hazel eyes, and tall athletic body. Defiantly Amano. "Amano, were you the one who sent me this?" Yukari stepped forward with a dumbfounded expression on her face with the crinkled note in her hand.

"Well ummmm yeah. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you sooner about it. It' just that I came to your house over the weekend but I couldn't summon up enough courage to talk to you. Instead I left you a note on your doorstep. I see you got it…" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly in embarrassment. Yukari stared at him with unblinking eyes. "You probably hate me now…" Amano looked down at his feet.

"How could I possibly be mad at you after you thoughtfully wrote me a note saying how great you think I am? It was such a nice gesture…" Yukari's cheeks flushed prettily. Amano slowly lifted his gaze to hers and smiled confidently.

"I don't think you're great, I know you are. You're just an over-all kind and loving person and every time I talk to you I feel so…positive and happy. I would feel very honoured if you would allow me the pleasure of escorting you to Millerna's party. In short, would you be my girlfriend?" His eyes glowed with adoration for her. Yukari couldn't resist his slow shy smile curving his mouth upward.

"I'd…I'd like that." Yukari stammered, cheeks aglow. A relived smile washed over Amano's face.

Hitomi felt that her presence was clearly an invasion of privacy. _Amano…_She couldn't help but look sad and disappointed. She'd had her heart set on Amano since track started. Watching them exchange mutual glances of affection was tearing her apart from the inside-out.

"I should go. See you guys around." Hitomi's features became morbid. Staring down at her track shoes, she made her way across the field. Hitomi turned around to check for any sign of protest from Yukari, but found none. The happy couple were eagerly chatting away. She wondered if they even noticed her leaving at all.

_I should of just said something to him. I should of let him know how I felt. It's too late now, he clearly likes Yukari. Maybe if I told Yukari earlier about my crush, things wouldn't of ended up like this…Wait, no. maybe it's for the best I didn't say anything. They do look happy together. _Hitomi's green eyes coated over with a glossy sheen of unshed tears. _Life can be so unfair sometimes…_

She found herself sitting on the curb of the sidewalk that connected the track field to the parking lot.

"Hey, you okay Hitomi?" A concerned voice asked, speaking down on her.

Clinging to the gritty curb, Hitomi craned her neck up to look at the speaker. "Van? What the….What are you doing here? I mean it's so early…why are you up?" She stammered out, wiping her moist eyes.

Van rubbed the back of his head. "I came to watch your practice. I was up early anyways making cookies. Just wanted to stop by, I guess." Normally, Hitomi would of laughed at the thought of Van wearing his mother's pink frilly apron while making cookies but she didn't feel much like laughing now.

"Hitomi what's wrong? You don't look so good." He sat down on the curb beside her, brow wrinkled with concern.

"It's…It's nothing." Her voice wavered followed by a quivering bottom lip. Van analyzed her facial features and shook his head.

"You're a bad liar. Something's gotta be wrong." Van hurriedly went through his knapsack and brought out a brown paper bag, a large canteen, and two coffee mugs. Hitomi stared at him in wonder.

"What's all this?" She asked, plainly confused.

"Like I said before, I was up early making cookies. I knew that you had practice today so I put some cookies into this bag, made some hot cocoa, and decided to come down and watch you. This was supposed to be for after but I though that you might tell me what's bothering you over some cookies and cocoa." He looked at her sincerely as she continued to openly gape at him, eyes watering. Van poured some of the steamy sugary liquid into the coffee mugs, blind to the fact Hitomi was about to burst into water works.

"Van…" Her bottom lip wobbled violently. Out of nowhere she broke out into tears, burying her face into her hands. It wasn't quite the reaction he was expecting.

"Hitomi!" Rightfully alarmed, he almost dropped the canteen. "Please tell me what's wrong." His burgundy eyes became softer.

"It's just…Amano asked Yukari out and I wanted him to ask me out…This is so unfair." She spoke into her palms.

Van nodded calmly and added. "Let me guess, you didn't tell her about your little crush either?" Like Van predicted, Hitomi nodded, still not looking up. With a firm hand, Van gently brought her hands away form her tear-stained face, slowly placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face up to look at him eye-to-eye. "Hitomi, I'm no expert on love or dating but I do know this; There are plenty of other guys out there so keep your chin up. Crying won't do you any good, at least my mom always tells me that…"

Hitomi held in a sniffle. "You're right. Crying won't do any good…" She spoke softly.

Van smiled kindly. "You know, a cookie would make you feel much better. It might even make you smile." He chuckled and handed her one of the coffee mugs. She smiled shyly, wrapping her chilly fingers around the steaming cup.

"It's a good thing I did come today, seeing how I brought the comfort food." Van held the bag of cookies out to Hitomi. She reached out for it but he swung it out of her reach. It crinkled as it rocked back and forth.

"Not so fast Hitomi." His tone became serious. "You only get a cookie if I see a real smile from you. I don't give away cookies that easily." A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. Hitomi stuck her tongue out in protest and made another grab for the bag. After a few moments of giggling as she awkwardly tried to capture the cookie bag, Van gasped mockingly.

"My, my. It that a smile I see Miss Kanzaki? How glad you have made this poor soul!" He proclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hand over the cookies." She said with an amused look.

Van sighed. "Fine, anything for your happiness. Just don't eat them all on me okay?" He surrendered the bag of cookies to her.

Sticking her hand happily into the bag, Hitomi pulled out a large round cookie. "Chocolate chip? My favourite!" She squealed with glee, dunking the cookie into her cocoa. "Mmmmmmmmm so good!" She said with her mouth half full.

Van grinned smugly, munching on his own cookie. "Mother's recipe. Same with the cocoa. I made it all from scratch." He seemed very pleased with himself.

Hitomi stopped in mid-bite. "From scratch? You made hot cocoa from scratch, for me?" She stopped a moment to ponder. "Okay Van, what did you do? Now's the time for a confession." She gave him a stern look.

"What! I didn't do anything!" He protested, almost dropping his cookie. In fact he did. Van whimpered in mourning at his poor cookie laying on the sidewalk. "No…No…No… it wasn't supposed to end up this way…" He murmured.

Hitomi rolled her eyes and picked the cookie up. "Five second rule, remember?"

"Heh, heh. Oh yeah, forgot about that rule…" Van rejoiced silently as Hitomi handed him the cookie.

"You didn't do all this for me because you did something….so what did you do it for then?"

"Just because, I guess." He shrugged.

"That's just it. You never do stuff "Just because" "

"Well maybe that's why I decided to start." He looked slightly flustered.

She stared at him a moment before her mouth sprouted into a small smile. "Thanks…You know, for cheering me up." She took a sip of her cocoa.

Van's face went slightly pink. "No problem."

Footsteps tapped the concrete behind them. Hitomi jerked her head around to find Amano and Yukari standing there, hands clasped together.

"Hey Hitomi, do you want to start warming up with us? The rest of the team will be here any minute." Yukari's smile mirrored Amano's.

"Sure, I'll be there in a second."

"Okay, we'll wait."

Hitomi smiled at Van. "Thanks for the cocoa and cookies." Van became stunned when she moved in to give him a light kiss. It was a quick peck and no more. You would of thought she had frenched him, judging from the look Yukari was giving her. Gathering up her stuff, she walked after Amano and Yukari.

Van sat there for a moment, blinking in amazement. _She kissed me…Get a hold of yourself, Fanel. It probably didn't mean anything…She was just happy that I made her cookies. Well, I didn't make them just for her…_His hand went into the bag again. Van was in a chipper mood. Hitomi thought he was the sweetest man alive, he had his cookies, and there was no Allen in sight. Yep, things couldn't get any better. Oh just wait a second, things did get a little bit better for him. Several cute long-legged girls on Hitomi's track team were walking his way. Grandly, Van held the bag out to the giggling girls and coyly asked.

"Cookies, anyone?" Now, all he had to do was keep Allen away from her all day.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love you guys! You all get cookies.


	9. Enter Dilandau

AN: yet another chapter…lol. This one's got dilly in it….kind of obvious…I just had to put him in here. For one, he's just so hilarious and two….he's my all time favourite villain. However, in this fic I'm not gonna make him the villain…maybe a bad ass but not an evil badass.

Dilandau thrummed his fingers rhythmically against his desk. Usually he skipped morning classes but today was sort of a special occasion. Reaching into his pocket, he flicked out his lighter and began playing with it to ease his boredom.

"Hey, boss!" Viole hissed Dilandau's nickname.

"Quiet, Viole. Can't you see I'm busy right now?" One of his silver eyebrows twitched with annoyance.

"But you-"

"Quiet!"

"But you told-"

"Shut up!"

"But you told me to-"

"Yeah, I told you to be quiet! So, SHUT UP!" He turned his back on the frustrated Viole and continued to occupy himself with the wavering flame.

Gathering up all his courage, Viole took one last chance to tell him. "But Dilandau….Hitomi…" He whispered.

Her name caught his ear. He shot up out of his desk, lighter in hand. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He exclaimed, raising his hands up. Turning around his freakishly red eyes met a pair of surprised green ones.

"Hitomi! Hi!" He radiated cheerfulness. Sly as a fox, he ran his nimble fingers through his pale locks.

"Ummmm hi…" She said shyly, slightly caught off guard. _Since when am I on speaking terms with him? _She shrugged it off and went to take her assigned seat.

"Wait, Hitomi! Come sit by me." He smiled eagerly and being the gentleman he was, pulled the chair next to him out. Hitomi looked around nervously.

"Me?" She gulped, pointing to herself.

"Yeah you. Come have a seat." Dilandau sat down, patted the chair next to him, and gave her his most winning smile. Hitomi's eyes searched around for an excuse not to sit down.

"Ummmm isn't that Gatty's seat? I don't want to intrude or anything." She took a step backwards towards her normal seat.

"Oh, don't worry about _Gatty_." He rolled his eyes. "He'll understand. Well, aren't you going to sit down?" Reluctantly, she did.

The bell rang causing a flood of students to trickle into the classroom. The room filled with mindless chatter as people began to take their seats.

"Hey Dilandau, what gives? Where am I supposed to sit?" Gatty glanced at Hitomi sitting in his seat, his mouth curving into an "O" in realisation. "Ah, never mind. I'll go sit at the back or somethin'."Winking at Hitomi, he marched to the back of the room. Hitomi was hoping that he would tell her to move. Feeling out of place, she bunched her hands into a tight ball in her lap. Everyone was giving her these odd glances. Dilandau made it worse by moving his desk in right beside hers. The grinding of metal legs against the floorboards made everyone's head to turn towards them.

_Great…_She sighed.

"Okay class, I know you just had a test yesterday, so today we'll just be watching a movie. No complaints, I hope." The teacher informed them, pleasant as always. The class beamed with relief. As the teacher was popping the movie in, Dilandau wrapped a confident arm around Hitomi's chair.

"So, Hitomi….What are you up to tonight?" Behind them, a few girls succumbed to a fit of light giggles. Dilandau looked a bit taken back when she shot him a death glare.

"Why?" She asked in a cut-dry tone. Obviously, she was far from amused.

"Whoa, I was just curious." Hitomi continued to glare at him. "What?" He smirked.

"I'm busy. In fact, I'll be busy until further notice. Thank you for asking." Reaching into her bag, she brought out her binder and steadily began on her math homework.

_Stubborn…_Dilandau smiled. "Well, you're not busy during lunch right?"

Hitomi squared her shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Actually I am."

"Oh really? Doing what?" He arched an eyebrow at her.

"None of your business, Dilandau." She dove back into her math homework, determined on finishing it.

He snorted. "Well then, I'll just have to make it my business to know or to find out."

She shrugged. "You do that…"

Dilandau chuckled to himself and leaned back into his chair. "We're going to get along just fine." He murmured, barely audible even to himself.

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Van felt his eyelids droop with sleepiness. He had gotten up way too early and the science teacher droning on about protons, neutrons, and electrons wasn't helping one bit. It was lecture time and everyone knew what that meant. A dark room, a bright overhead note-taking, and the odd nap. Every so often student's heads bobbed with exhaustion. Van was about to do just that when the teacher called upon him to answer a question.

"Okay Van, is it possible for an electron to attract another electron?" He said in a dull voice, adjusting his glasses.

Van jolted up straight, eyes wide. He looked somewhat awake but his mind was drawing a blank.

"Ummmm I don't know sir."

The teacher sighed, smacking his forehead. "Just guess then please."

"…No?" Van answered hopefully.

The teacher smiled. "Very good guess, Van." He said with sincerity. "Next time pay more attention to the lecture."

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah…Sorry." Van rubbed his weary eyes. The teacher continued on with the lecture. Van tried to pay attention but he felt his consciousness slipping. Fortunately, Gaddess was beside him to poke him awake.

"Wake up Van. If I have to endure this so do you." He mumbled. Van opened his eyes and yawned.

"Doing my best." Lazily, he covered his gaping mouth. His eyes wandered to the clock. 11:30, almost lunch.

"Hey look, Van. There's Allen and Dryden." Gaddess whispered, staring at the door. "I wonder what they're doing out of class." He shrugged.

"Seniors…" Van mumbled in a low growl. He kept his eyes fixed on Allen as he walked by.

"So, what's the matter now?" Van overheard Dryden talking to Allen. He jolted awake with sudden interest. _What wouldn't I do to hear that conversation?… _A light bulb went off in his head and his hand shot up into the air.

"Yes, Van?" The teacher, annoyed.

"Can I go to the washroom?" He pleaded.

"I don't know…Can you?" A smirk spread across the teacher's mouth.

"May I go to the washroom?" He asked again. Van hated it when teachers corrected his grammar especially over something so trivial.

"Fine, hurry though because class will be over soon and I still have to hand out worksheets." He warned.

_Oh goodie, worksheets…_Van thanked him and quickly dashed out of the classroom. The teacher blinked in surprise.

"Wow, he must have had to go badly." Soft laughter filled the room. The only chuckle they'd ever get in this science class.

Once outside the classroom, Van pursued Allen and Dryden with caution.

"Good luck with that." Dryden said, about to burst into laugher. "I don't think any self-respecting girl would want to go with you to that party. I mean really, I don't even think I want to be seen around you wearing that nurse costume."

Allen sighed. "Laugh all you want. It was stupid of me to challenge Gaddess to that bet."

Dryden stopped to open his locker, Allen stopping too. "You think?" He began spinning in his locker combo using the dial. "So, did you ask that Hitomi girl out yet?" Dryden asked.

Allen sighed. "She really is something isn't she? Unfortunately, no I haven't asked her. I stopped by her house on the weekend but she wasn't home. It was funny though because Van answered the door."

"That freshman kid? No way!" Dryden commented.

"Yes way. After telling me that she wasn't home, he told me to stay away from her. Maybe they are dating after all…" Allen's face became sulky.

"What! They're dating? When did this happen? Just last week I saw them arguing about something in the halls. You would of swore they hated each other." Astonishment covered Dryden's face.

"It's gotta be true. Why else would he tell me to stay away from her?" Allen looked as unhappy as ever. "Now who will I take to the dance?"

Dryden rolled his eyes. "Aww, poor muffin. Get a grip, Allen. Loads of girls out there would be begging to date you…"

Allen huffed indignantly. "Yeah, but by the end of the day every girl will know about the little bet I made and the nurse costume that's attached to it!" He hissed.

Dryden pondered this for a moment, fingering his chin.. "Guess you're right. Allen…you're screwed." He roared with laughter as he slammed his locker shut.

Van was beginning to feel a string of mixed emotions. He felt worried, surprised, happy, and afraid. Afraid because if Hitomi found out Allen stopped by her house, she'd have his head on a platter. _I can't believe that Allen thinks we're dating…idiot. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Allen will leave Hitomi alone if he thinks she's taken but false rumours will start about us dating. That wouldn't be too good…If people start asking questions they'll find out the truth and Allen might start sniffing around again. Bastard… _Van bit his lower lip. _I should get back to class…_ With that, he trudged back down the hall towards the science room. When he reached the classroom door, his lips twitched into a lopsided smile. _Heh, heh…At least Allen has to wear a nurse costume. How embarrassing to be him. Ha, he deserves it._

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Hitomi quickly scurried out of the classroom with Dilandau hot on her heels. She was practically jogging, anything to get away from him.

"Hitomi! Wait up! Where are you going in such a hurry?" He eventually caught up to her, smile on his face.

Her face became brighter when she saw the washroom doors. "Washrooms, Dilandau. Do you mind?" She stated gruffly.

Dilandau rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, I'll wait outside for you then. After how about I buy you lunch?" He asked politely…very politely.

"I'm not too sure about that…" She trailed off. _Why me?_ Dilandau just kept on smiling.

"Awe, please? Who can resist free food?" His eyes seemingly bigger, begging her to accept.

"Okay, but just this once." She gave in.

"Sure." He winked and she bolted off into the washroom.

Locking herself into a stall, she paused to take several deep calming breaths. _No. this can't be happing to me! Dilandau, the grade ten bad boy is coming onto me. _Hitomi felt like screaming._ Yukari was right about him…_ _Okay, calm down. I'll go down to the cafeteria with him with him and as soon as I see Yukari. I'll just let him down gently and go have lunch with her instead. _Opening the stall door, she smiled_. Here goes nothing…_ Walking tall, she marched out of the bathroom.

"Hey Hitomi, let's go." He tried slinging his arm around her shoulders but she smacked it away.

"Hands off." She said in a sickly sweet voice, baring her teeth.

Dilandau looked at his arm and then back at Hitomi again. "Wow…violent." He smirked as she frowned at him. "You're awesome." He breathed.

Hitomi refrained from gagging. She couldn't believe this guy. She smacks his arm away from her and he thinks it makes her awesome and violent? Odd guy…

"Hey Hitomi, you're going to that party on the 31st right?…. I was thinking…maybe we could go together? What do ya say?" Grinning , he stepped closer to her, being careful not to touch her.

Hitomi gasped, trying to think of something to say. "I'm so sorry Dilandau……it's just that I …I-"

"You're already seeing someone else? Oh well, that's too bad. For me, I guess." He looked kinda disappointed , still keeping a smile on his face.

"Yeah, something like that…" She muttered

"Lucky bastard." He rubbed his neck. "You still want to get a bit to eat?".

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Dilandau bought Hitomi some chicken fingers and a salad for lunch as he bought himself the usual bag of chips and pop. Hitomi felt kinda bad for lying to him. He'd laughed when she agreed to have lunch with him, saying how maybe she might dump that boyfriend of hers and date him instead. She was beginning to find him…Dare she say it? Nice. Maybe it's true what they say "Don't judge a book by it's cover".

"So, who's the lucky guy?" Dilandau opened his bag of chips with a loud pop.

"Well….You'll meet him at the party if you go." It was a complete bluff but she would have a date by then, wouldn't she?

Dilandau looked captivated. "You're so mysterious." His eyes glistened with silent laughter.

"Hardly. No offence or anything but you don't know anything about me."

"Oh yeah? Well I do know that you participate in track but I guess you're right." He admitted. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself then?"

Hitomi barked a laugh. "Why are you so interested about me anyways?"

He leaned across the table, stopping a few inches away from her face and stared deeply into her forest hued eyes. "If you really want to know, I find you very unique. You're not like the other girls. Ever since I saw you fighting with that Van guy last week, I've been dying to get to know you better."

Hitomi felt like his gaze was going to put a hole through her. "You're quite the character yourself." Her voice remained cool and calm. When he didn't back away, she pressed a hand to his porcelain forehead and pushed him gently back.

"So…Are you going to tell me about yourself or not?" He sounded almost impatient.

"I will, but only if you do the same." She had a few questions of her own to ask him as well.

"Deal." He said quickly, not even pausing to think.

"Well, I don't know if we'll have enough time…" She said, checking her watch simultaneously. "The bell is going to ring soon."

Dilandau looked very disappointed. "Oh okay, call me after-school then. I'll give you my number."

Hitomi sighed. "Fine."

Grinning like a happy child, Dilandau retrieved a pen from his bag and scribbled his number onto her hand. "Friends then?" He asked hopefully.

Hitomi smiled. "Friends." She confirmed.

"Great, so I'll see ya around then?"

"Sure." Just then, she noticed that Yukari hadn't shown up at the cafeteria like she normally did. Surprisingly, she didn't really seem to mind at all.

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Hitomi found herself thinking about Dilandau during P.E class. She found him really odd because he'd been so straightforward with her. Not to mention confident too. He seemed nice but he _was _the leader of that gang. It made her very unsure and worried.

"Nice ass." Gaddess teased her, pretending to check her out. Behind him, Van pleaded him to be quiet.

Her nose wrinkled with annoyance. She thought about throwing the hockey stick she was carrying at him but didn't. That didn't mean she didn't want to. "Ha ha, very funny."

Van looked about ready to die when Gaddess chuckled. "Right. Sure."

Her whole entire class had roared with laughter when Van "accidentally" sprayed water at her behind, using his water bottle when she was doing stretches. She was in mid motion of touching her toes when the cold blast hit her. Her face immediately went red for two reasons. One the shorts she had on were white, the second reason was that she was wearing red underwear. Not a good combination. Everyone could see her underwear through her shorts. Cursing Van, she high-tailed it to the girl's change room.

Well as expected, Van got his comeuppance. In the hallways, Hitomi illustrated her displeasure by screaming at him and actually throwing her binder at him. It was quite the display. He had tried telling her that he had no idea that she had been wearing red underwear and how sorry he was…but she wouldn't hear anything of it.

"Just when I thought people were getting over that…" She rolled her eyes.

"Heh heh…yeah…" Van looked at the ceiling, feigning innocence.

"Wow, I didn't know the roof was so interesting." Hitomi commented, leaning on her hockey stick. Her eyes twinkled with laughter. Van looked at her with dead silence "Oh I know what this is about. You still think I'm mad about that." She walked forward with a dangerous grin on her face.

"What makes you think that." Van nervously laughed. He eyed her hockey stick with caution.

"Oh I don't know…Was it the fearful expression or the ceiling gazing that gave it away?" She laughed. "Don't worry about it." She smiled to reassure him.

"Easy for you to say. You weren't the one who had the binder thrown at you. That hurt you know…" He rubbed the side of his head in painful remembrance.

Hitomi grinned cheekily. "I guess it must have…"

It was Van's turn to roll his eyes " I saw Amano walking with Yukari during lunch. I couldn't help but notice you weren't there. So, where were you all lunch?"

"Cafeteria." She said simply. "Like always."

"Must have been boring for you. How come you didn't give us a holler?" Gaddess added in.

"It was far from boring." She laughed teasingly. "I made a new friend, see?" Hitomi held up her hand to show them Dilandau's number. Of course, they didn't know who's it was though.

They both gave her strange stares. Van grabbed her hand to get a better look at the number scrawled on it. "Who?" He questioned.

Snatching her hand away, she smiled sweetly. "Oh, no one you know personally…"

"Not that I'm interested or anything…but could you tell me who?" Van asked again. Internally the suspense was killing him.

"You are so interested! I can't believe you…For that, I'm not gonna tell _you._" Hitomi stuck out her tongue, effectively taunting him. Van tried playing it cool but Hitomi could see right through his little charade.

"Fine, don't tell me." He folded his arms defiantly.

"Fine." She grinned.

They stood there for a moment, Hitomi grinning and Van looking cross. Gaddess could only shake his head and sigh. Mentally he counted down from ten. _10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5,4..._ He didn't even reach three. He never did.

Van broke into a mischievous grin and said. "Hitomi, don't make me do this…" He wiggled all ten fingers at her in warning. Being dramatic, he took three lumbering steps towards her.

"Do what?" The smile vanished from her features. Hitomi began to slowly back away. He pounced towards her like a lion and she shrieked in her high pitched voice. She knew exactly what he was going to do. "STOP VAN! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" She dropped her hockey stick in shock.

Hitomi tried dodging him, but it was too late. He caught her despite the struggle she put up. Calmly but gently so he didn't hurt her, Van picked her up and plopped her onto the gym floor. Then he began to relentlessly tickle her. Hitomi didn't have a chance. Water began to leak from her emerald eyes as she laughed helplessly. "Had enough yet?" He asked, a cheeky grin glued to his face. He stopped his tickling for a moment to let her answer.

"I'm not telling you!" She laughed as she tried to wriggle away.

"Oh no you don't." He picked her up, swinging her over his shoulder like a small child. Hitomi was light, making her a small burden.

"Van Fanel, let me down!" She hissed, well more like shrieked.

"Never!" He threw his head back in evil laugher. Hitomi folded her arms, half draped over his back and blew a sandy lock of hair out of her face. Gaddess by now, had left to let them quarrel alone.

"Hitomi!" He whined. "Why won't you just tell me already? Please?" Van's bottom lip produced a small pout, not that she could see it or anything.

"No." She grumbled, content on waiting this out.

Van snickered. "Oh, I get it…your new friend is a guy, no?" Van smiled wickedly when he felt her gasp sharply.

"So…So what if he is?" She stumbled.

"Well, my dear." Van said, patting her behind much to her embarrassment. "I'm not going to let you down until you tell me who he is."

"But I have to change!" She reminded him quickly.

"So, I'll just wait outside. Just for you." He chimed merrily, briskly walking about the gym with her causing much giggling from the peanut gallery.

_That should prove interesting…_Hitomi smirked to herself, a plan circulating through her head.

AN: Wow, that was a long chapter…I'll end it there for now. I wrote this while camping…Can u believe that? Camping. I know, I'm kinda odd. I typed it up as soon as I got home. i should update Bitter Blissfulness soon...


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Well, here's my update. I'm feeling bad still for not finishing up a chapter for Bitter Blissfulness. I'll get to it when I can, I promise. For now, here's another chappie for this fic. It deserves more attention cuz I started it first so yeah. I put Merle in this one cuz I felt I've been ignoring her….

**Chapter ten **

"Van, you're a stubborn bastard but I'm guessing you already knew that." By now, Hitomi was more annoyed than amused.

She had tried everything. From pleading him to stop this childish game to threatening him with next to everything in her purse. Nothing worked. Van just stood there with devilish grin on his face, waiting for Hitomi to take one step outside the change room door. He seemed to have all the patience in the world.

So what else could she do? Picking up her knapsack, she carefully cracked the door open. _Still there…Damn._

"Hitomi, I don't have all day and neither do you. I want to go home. Come on, Hitomi!" His muffled voice called from outside the change room.

"Well then, go home." Hitomi chuckled. Maybe she would win this competition of sheer stubbornness after all.

"Fine, but remember…I'm not going to let you off this easily. You're lucky I have karate today." Van warned before walking away.

Hitomi pumped her fist into the air in triumph. _Yes! I win. _She waited until she heard the gym doors close before leaving her odd sanctuary. Her ego became three sizes larger when she happily noted that Van did indeed leave the gym. _I showed him…HA!_ Hitomi bounced in a carefree skip across the gymnasium._ But I guess I'm lucky he has to go to karate class…_None the less she was still ecstatic that she was going to walk home using her own two feet instead of being lugged around, slung over Van's back. Cheerfully, she opened the gym doors wide. Unfortunately, her cheerfulness was short-lived. _Wait a second…Van doesn't have karate class Monday…_

"I told you I wouldn't let you off that easily…" Van jumped out from behind the pop machines. Hitomi could only yelp as she was swept off her feet.

"VAN! Let me go this instant! I can't believe you tricked me!" She wailed, smacking his back in frustration.

He sighed " That was my intention and I'll only let you down if you tell me who he is." Van stumbled with each step he took. It wasn't easy trying to carry Hitomi with her hitting his back like she was.

"Just when I thought we were getting along just fine…You had to go and ruin it!" She sobbed as she ceased hitting his back. Burring her face into her hands, she began to cry. Hitomi made a mental note to thank her drama teacher. Her little act did sound believable.

Van felt a stab of guilt. "Please don't cry Hitomi, I was just teasing you…I…I…" He promptly eased her to her feet. "I'm sorry, okay? You don't have to tell me who he is anymore. I won't mention it again…Just PLEASE stop crying…" Awkwardly, he rubbed her shoulder, unsure how to comfort the distressed female.

"You promise?" Hitomi rubbed away fake tears using the collar of her shirt.

"Promise." He said with intense seriousness. It made Hitomi want to burst into laugher. She had to resist the urge to with all her might.

"Okay, Van. I believe you" She ended with a classic sniffle. Van had fallen for her act hook, line, and sinker.

"That's good to hear…You scared me there, for a moment. Hey, how about I walk you home now?"

"Sure." Hitomi smiled genuinely. Van was more immature than not but he was still a kind person. Hearing him apologize with the utmost sincerity, reminded Hitomi of that fact.

"Ummmm here. I'm positive that you dropped this." Van rubbed his head shyly as he lifted her red tear-shaped pendant.

"My necklace!" Her hand automatically cupped around the bright orb. Van allowed the chain to coil down into her palm.. "It could've been disastrous if I'd lost this." She breathed, closing her fingers around it.

"Yeah, your mom would've killed you. Good thing I prevented you from losing it." He waited patiently for Hitomi to finish so they could start walking home.

"You prevented me from losing it? News flash, Van ; it wouldn't of fallen off if you hadn't swung me around like a rag -doll. Talk about being over-proud." She shoved him against the pop machine to humble him. That didn't work out quite as planned either. Before she could walk away feeling smug, Van caught hold of her wrist and dragged her along with him.

She blinked with surprise when she realised she was pressed up against him. "If you think I'm being over-proud, you should try evaluating yourself. Don't you think pushing me into this pop machine was being a bit over-proud on your part?" His tone held a kind of gentleness. It didn't even sound like he was trying to lecture her. With a mind of it's own, Van's hand smoothed her short hair down.

If any other guy tried doing this to her, she probably would of screamed "Pervert!" and kicked the boy where the sun didn't shine. But this was Van, and she couldn't do that to him without at least warning him. At the present moment, she was too stunned to say or do anything.

"Well I have to admit I can get carried away too sometimes but you were being a smart-ass in the first place today." He mused as he let her go. Hitomi couldn't tell if he was being playful, serious or something in-between. "Are you okay? Your cheeks are all flushed. Please, tell me you're not going to cry on me again. I hate it when you cry." He couldn't help but still feel guilty.

"No, no. It's okay, I'm fine." She covered her cheek with a hand and found that it was warm.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." He smiled with relief. "Let's go home now."

"Sure." She looked down at her hand, still warm from her cheek. _What happened just now? Why am I…Blushing? Since when has Van been able to make me blush?_ _Does he like me? _Discreetly, Hitomi put a hand to her mouth before leaving the school with Van.

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Hitomi tiptoed on by the living room, silently hoping her mom hadn't heard her come in yet. Her face was ruby red and Hitomi didn't exactly want her mom to see, in fear she would become more embarrassed. Mrs Kanzaki looked too absorbed by her book to notice her anyways. Hitomi breathed a sigh of relief when she made it into the kitchen.

"So, how was your day Hitomi?" Her mother asked from the living room as she flipped another page of her sappy romance novel.

Hitomi jumped at her mother's voice. "Good. How was yours?" She dropped her knapsack onto the counter.

"It was wonderful, thanks for asking. I slept in, worked on the garden, had tea with Varie, and now I'm just reading. It really was a relaxing day."

"That's great mom." Hitomi opened the fridge door, looking for a snack. She sat there for a moment, letting the icy air hit her face. _That should do it…it doesn't feel as hot as it did before._

"Oh and by the way…Merle called. She'll be stopping by at about six tonight. She said that she wants to talk to you about something."

Hitomi marched into the living room munching on an apple. "She wants to talk to me? I wonder what about…" Shrugging, she made herself comfortable on the couch and reached for the remote.

Her mother put down her book. "I asked her what she needed to talk to you about but she wouldn't say." She paused for a moment, staring at Hitomi's flushed cheeks in wonder. "Hitomi, what did you do in P.E class? You're practically glowing."

"Ummmm just hockey and stuff." She could feel her blush creep down her neck.

"Oh…" Mrs Kanzaki checked her watch. _4:00, she's unusually late today…_Looking out the window behind Hitomi's head, she noticed a certain shaggy black-haired boy making his way down the road. Mrs Kanzaki smiled secretively to herself. _Oh I know what's going on…_

"What?" Hitomi noticed her mother's odd glances.

"Nothing…Just thinking."

"About what?" Hitomi was beginning to feel nervous.

"What else? Supper." She laughed, grinning.

"Oh…" Hitomi nodded, but she didn't believe her.

0000000000000000

Lazily, Hitomi threw herself onto her bed with the cordless phone in hand. _4:30pm, this phone call won't take that long will it? _Looking down at her hand for reference, she dialled Dilandau's number.

_Ring…Ring…Ring…_

"Gatty! For the last time, I'm staying home. If I go meet you guys at the usual spot, I'll miss Hitomi's call. QUIT CALLING ME!" Dilandau was about to throw the phone down yet again when he heard a familiar feminine voice on the other end of the line.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not Gatty."

"Hey Hitomi…I thought it was _him _again. Sorry about that."

Hitomi laughed. "It's alright. So…" She said coolly. "I didn't catch you at a bad time did I? Because if I did, I can call you some other time…" She teased.

"No, it's not a bad time at all really…" Hitomi couldn't help but chuckle. He sounded way too serious for his own good.

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Before she knew it, Hitomi had lost track of time. They'd talked for the past hour and a half about well, pretty much everything that came to mind. She had discovered that Dilandau wasn't quite as he seemed. For one, she had no idea that he was into poetry of all things. It made her wonder what sort of poems he read and if he wrote any himself. Hitomi also made it her business to ask a lot of questions concerning what his little gang was all about. Dilandau assured her that all they did was hang out together after school and that they weren't actually a real gang. That didn't mean he didn't like the reputation the whole school had given him. He didn't mind playing the tough guy once in awhile if it meant that no one would go out of their way to bother him.

"Hitomi, Merle's here." Her mother heard Merle's footsteps coming towards the door.

"I'm sorry Dilandau, I gotta go. I've got company now. It was nice talking to ya." The door bell rang clearly as Hitomi headed for the door.

"Yeah, ummmm wait a second, Hitomi?"

"What is it now?"

"Can I call you 'Tomi? I know it sounds weird, but Hitomi sounds way to formal to me."

"Okay…."She paused. "You can call me that I guess…But only if I get to call you Dilly then. It's only fair." Dilandau grumbled in protest on the other end of the line. "Oh, come on. It's a cute nickname."

"The things I do for you…Okay, fine, whatever. See ya at school tomorrow, 'Tomi."

"Okay, see you then." An odd kind of sensation tingled through her fingers as she turned the phone off. Hitomi was actually looking forward to school tomorrow.

"Hey, Hitomi." Merle called from the bottom of the stairs, hurriedly hanging up her coat.

"Hey, Merle. How's life?" She called back, smiling. Merle practically ran up the stairs to meet her. Something told Hitomi that the smile Merle was wearing was forced.

"Could be better, I guess." She admitted.

Hitomi gave her a look of empathy and hooked her arm through Merle's. "Okay, what could be better?" She lead her down the hallway. "Something must be up otherwise why would you want to talk with me? So, what's on your mind?"

Merle looked behind her in suspicion. "Where is everyone?"

Hitomi laughed. "Don't worry. Seth's downstairs playing some internet game and I'm pretty sure mom's still reading in the living room. Seth won't even notice your presence unless you physically go down there and remove those silly headphones he always wears. He has them turned up way to loud. My mom won't bother us, I know that for a fact. So, what can I help you with?" They entered Hitomi's room and Hitomi pulled out a few chairs for them. She sat down and encouraged Merle to as well

"Oh….ummmm well…" Merle looked down at her holy socks as she sat down. "Hitomi, do you think I'm a tomboy?"

Hitomi looked a bit surprised, but she took a moment to think about it, studying Merle's face. "You could be described that way…It's not a bad thing, if that's what your getting at."

Merle sighed, looking down at her clothing. Baggy cargo pants with a dark equally baggy t-shirt that completely hid her petit figure. Now Hitomi thought about it, she'd seen Van wearing that same shirt during junior high. "Guess they were all right…" She said dejectedly.

"Who was right? Merle, what's going on?"

Merle looked up, twisting her hands together nervously. "The girls at school…and mother." She whispered.

"Since when did you care about what they had to say? You didn't before." Her green eyes keenly narrowed with concern.

"Well, what if this time I do care?" Merle played with the edge of Van's hand-me-down t-shirt. "What if I don't want to be a tomboy anymore?…" She said quietly with the utmost carefulness.

Hitomi's jaw almost hit the floor. "What….what do you mean? Merle, what can I say?…I'm shocked at what you just said….I…"

Merle looked up from her lap with confidence. "I don't want to be the tomboy girl who's 'One of the guys' anymore…I've had guy friends all my life and that's fine, I like hanging out with them. It's just, I've never had any girl-friends , besides you of course. Yesterday, I was thinking about it and I realised that I haven't even tried being friends with any of the girls at school. What's worse, when I did try…" She trailed off.

Hitomi was patiently listening, waiting to hear the rest and take in what Merle was telling her. "So, what happened?"

"I was ignored, looked at funny, some smirked like they found it hilarious that I was trying talking to them, and a few made some comments about the way I dressed. Scary thing is, when I did look in the mirror I did look a bit…err…Tomboyish."

Hitomi nodded, feeling a bit flustered that Merle was having these types of troubles. "Why didn't you tell me sooner about this? I could of helped you out."

Merle gave her a tight smile. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I think I need some advice…You're the first person that came to mind when I thought about talking to someone about this. Hitomi, you've known me since I've been born…Can you help me out here?" She seemed tense, but willing and co-operative none the less.

Hitomi paused, looking Merle up and down with a smirk curling one side of her mouth in thought. "I can help…If this really is what you want. It might be tricky though. I'm going to need to call Yukari to come help me with this. We're going to have to go through your wardrobe-" Merle cut her off.

"Wardrobe?" Strawberry blonde eyebrows squished with puzzlement and curiosity.

"Yeah, your closet. You know, clothes and stuff. Anyways, after that we'll take you shopping and go through your make-up drawer-" Hitomi was interrupted again by Merle.

"This is sounding a lot like a…" Her eyes went wide.

"Make-over? Well, ummmm it kinda is. It's not going to be anything drastic or anything. You're still going to be the same Merle you are now…Just improved. Trust me on this one. When we're done, you won't look done up or overly girlish or anything." Hitomi assured her, beaming with enthusiasm.

"Okay…" Merle took in a deep breath. "I just have to get over how scary that word sounds…" Laughing at how foolish she sounded, she smiled. "Thank you Hitomi, I really do want as well as need this change. Thank you again, for understanding and listening to me."

"No need to thank me, Merle. You're like a little sister to me." She reached over and gave Merle a hug.

Merle chuckled. "What does that make that brother of mine then?"

"Which one?" Hitomi returned the laugh, pulling away from the hug.

Merle sighed, rolling her large eyes. "The one in your grade. Messy black hair. Goes by the name of Van, as I recall."

"Oh _him._ Well, I guess that makes him…an overgrown lout that happens to know me." She laughed at Merle's reaction. "He's not that horrible I guess…still, he can get annoying. You have to agree with me, of all people. After all, you are his sister."

"So that's what you think of him…I was under the impression that you two were…" Merle shook her head quickly. "Anyways, when are you going to give my "Wardrobe" a little brush up?"

Hitomi gave Merle a flat hard stare, her smile vanishing from her face. "You were under the impression that Van and I were what, exactly?…"

Merle yelped. "Good friends?" She said, looking at Hitomi in fear. Once Hitomi removed her stare, Merle let out a sigh. "When are you coming over to my house to…you know." She asked hopefully.

"Oh! Well, it might have to wait till the weekend. I'm kinda busy with track and school." Hitomi smiled again, chipper as ever.

Merle's face brightened dramatically. "Okay! I'll see you around then."

"Most defiantly." Together, they left the room. As predicted, Mrs Kanzaki was still reading her novel and Seth was still out of sight downstairs.

Spontaneously, Merle began squealing with delight. "I should see what Seth's up to." She pranced down to the basement, leaving Hitomi to sigh and shake her head.

"So, how was girl talk?" Mrs Kanzaki inquired

"Can only be described as interesting…" Hitomi chuckled. "We talked and fixed what needed fixing I guess…everything is peachy in Merle's world now."

Mrs Kanzaki smiled fondly at her daughter. "It amazes me at how fast you're all growing up." She laughed at her own cheesy comment.

"Mom…" Hitomi sighed, placing her hands onto her hips.

"I know, I know. Sorry, but it's true though. When you become a mother, you'll understand."

Hitomi smiled warmly. She loved it when her mother smiled. To her, she was the most beautiful person in the world. Her smiles made her feel loved. "I'm sure I will someday…Well, I've gotta hit the books now. I love you." She blew her mom a kiss as she headed for her room again.

Mrs Kanzaki caught her kiss with smiles. "love you too, sweetie. I'll call when supper's ready."

"Okay, thanks." Hitomi quickly disappeared into her room to finish her dreaded homework.

AN:

Up next: another typical Friday for the esca gang? Maybe, you'll see. And after that, the long awaited Halloween bash. lmao. I'm working on those chappies for ya.

…that last part was kinda for my mom. Lol, I just love her so much. She's really dear to me, I don't know what I would do without her. Kinda sappy I know…sigh.

TO THE REVIEWERS!

I really want to thank ppls here, because they're all so wonderful and their reviews really mean a lot to me. Seriously.

I'd like to thank

Iceboltmage- glad u liked it, and here's my update. Fast no?

FluffieGirlie- it's not that hard…blushes thanks for the compliment.

queenyasha- I loved ur input! It really helped me out a lot and got me thinking…

Cev- lol, yeah it's my little love square... it'll be a triangle soon, you'll see. Ur stories are so awesome by the way. They leave me speechless.

Toki Hasegara- thanks! Happy u enjoyed it.

Xanthia Nightshade- lol, here's ur update. Hope u liked it.

Hitomi21- well, u can stop waiting. I updated!

Angelofdarkness1566- I'm ecstatic that u love it. Thank u so much for all the reviews!

Pure hope- I love ur enthusiasm! Ur just so awesome! I really mean that. And the emails u send brighten up my day. My chemical romance rocks now doesn't it? Lol

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. U all get double chocolate cookies, my treat.


	11. Another Typical Friday?

**AN: **Sorry about the wait. I've been having a rough semester. So…much….homework. lol, that's what I get for taking Biology, chemistry, and Earth science all in the same semester. (sigh) I finally found the time to type this up. lol, the only reason I found time is because there's a teacher strike going on right now. (in BC anyways. That's where I live) there's no school tomorrow…not good. We'll probably be out of school for about a week until they settle everything for the government and such.

**Another typical Friday?**

_/ring/_

"Okay class, have a nice weekend." The history teacher said with a genuine smile on his face. Students bustled about at their desks, packing up their things as the teacher wiped the whiteboard clean.

Hitomi mimicked the rest of her peers, sighing mentally. She, like everyone else, was glad that it was Friday. Yukari smiled shyly, books clutched to her chest, waiting for Hitomi to finish stuffing everything into her bag. "Hitomi, is it alright if I--"

"--Walk home with Amano? Yeah, it's fine." She flashed her friend an amused grin. Hitomi didn't know why she kept asking for her permission. All week, Yukari had walked home with Amano. Hitomi didn't mind in the least. It's not like she was left walking home by herself. Dilandau seemed to be making a point of spending as much time with her as he could. That included walking her home, despite the fact that it took him well off his route home.

"You sure?" Yukari asked, eyebrows crinkling together.

"I'm sure. I'll just walk home with Dilandau." Hitomi slung her knapsack lazily over one shoulder. In a bit of a rush, Hitomi headed out the door, almost leaving Yukari in the dust.

"Dilandau again, eh? He's taken a liking to you. I just knew it!" Yukari laughed as she followed Hitomi out. "You know, you should really tell him that you're single. I can't believe you told him that you were already seeing someone else." She let out a sigh, patting Hitomi's shoulder.

"I didn't tell him that, remember? He just assumed. Besides, we're better off as friends anyways." Yukari rolled her eyes at Hitomi's last comment.

"Right…you keep telling yourself that. You could always tell him that you dumped that fake boyfriend of yours. On second thought, maybe I should tell him that…" The red-head rubbed her chin in mischievous thought.

"Yukari…" Hitomi warned, narrowing her bright eyes.

"I was just kidding" Yukari huffed, sighing at her friend's serious look. "Anyways, I told Amano I'd meet him at the track, so I'll call you later."

"Okay, talk to ya later." Hitomi replied, smiling at the faint blush staining Yukari's cheeks.

"Yeah…" Yukari stopped in her tracks. Wiggling her eyebrows up and down, she smirked. "Look, it's Dilandau now." She whispered, nudging Hitomi forward. The honey-blonde squeaked in protest.

"Cut it out! I can see him!" Hitomi hissed as Yukari shamelessly waved to Dilandau.

"Hey Dilandau!" Her voice bellowed down the hall like a cascading wave. There was nothing more in the world Hitomi wanted than to find a rock to crawl and hide under. This was too embarrassing for her to handle.

Dilandau's ruby eyes lit up when he noticed Hitomi trying to cower behind her enthusiastic friend. A dashing grin swept his mouth into an upward curve as he made his way towards the two.

"Hey Yukari! Hey 'Tomi. You don't mind if I tag along, do you?" He sighed, pushing back his hair. "I can't seem to find Miguel, Shesta, or Viole anywhere. I saw Gatti but lately…he's just been plain annoying."

"I was just leaving." Yukari piped up. "I don't want to keep Amano waiting, now do I?" Winking at the pair, she headed for the track. "See you guys around."

"We all could have walked home together but…nooo." Hitomi muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

"Why do you look so angry, 'Tomi?" Dilandau asked with amusement.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Hitomi pouted at Yukari's retreating back.

Chortling, Dilandau tapped Hitomi's unsuspecting nose. "You are angry. It's written all over your face."

At that, Hitomi growled at him. "No, I'm not angry. Leave me alone, _Dilly._" She frowned at Dilandau's calm stare.

"I know what this is about. You're mad at your boyfriend about something. It probably has something to do with him ditching you at school…Now that I think about it, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting him. Yeah, how come I never see him hanging out with you at lunch?" He honestly looked concerned. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

Hitomi sighed, slapping her forehead in exasperation. _Is this guy for real? _Warily, she searched his eyes. _Should I just come out with it?_ Biting her bottom lip, she looked down.

"'Tomi, if this guy is giving you a hard time…" He balled his hand into a fist forcefully, his red eyes flashing brightly with anger. "I can take care of him."

"No, that won't be necessary!" She said hurriedly with panicked eyes. Dilandau looked at her for an explanation. "Well…er…You see…err…" She feebly stuttered out, stalling in order to think of something to tell him.

"You can tell me 'Tomi. I am your friend, after all, aren't I?" He silently pleaded her further with a frown.

"Dilandau…I don't have a boyfriend." She blurted out, making his eyes bulge.

"You don't have a boyfriend?" He spoke slowly, as if he was unsure of what he was hearing.

"Anymore…"She whispered, mentally kicking herself for what she just blurted out.

"You don't have a boyfriend!" Dilandau exclaimed loudly. His eyes became abnormally glossy, complemented by a silly moon-struck smile that split his face in two. "This is great! I mean…I'm sorry you two broke up. Who was your boyfriend anyways?" Interest interrupted his grin momentarily.

"He doesn't matter anymore." Hitomi stuttered out. She didn't know how long she could keep up with this little charade of lies.

"That's cool." Dilandau gave her an apologetic half-smile. Rubbing the back of his head, he nodded his head in the direction of the school's entrance. "You wanna get out of here?"

"Sure." Hitomi sighed, rubbing her temples.

Dilandau opened the front doors open for Hitomi, his mood dramatically lightened. "So, who are you going to the party with?" He asked, trying not to look too hopeful.

"I don't know. Maybe I should just go alone." She sulked.

"That wouldn't be so bad. I'm going alone too." He smiled, casually slipping his hands into his pockets. "Looks like we have something in common."

Hitomi barked a laugh, rolling her eyes. "Kudos to you for noticing." She remarked sarcastically.

Dilandau laughed. "It's true! I'm single." He pointed to himself in emphasis. "And, you're single." He poked her, earning him a glare.

"So?"

"So! Is that all you have to say?" He tried not to feel discouraged. He thought that he had made it painfully obvious. Dilandau paused to clear his throat roughly. "Maybe we could go together?"

Hitomi lurched to a halt. "You mean, like a date?" She laughed nervously through the awkward silence that followed.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. Please, 'Tomi? Don't make me beg." He wiggled his bottom lip in mock sadness.

Hitomi gave him a shove to snap him out of it. "Fine, I'll go with you…" Her cheeks began to burn.

"This is awesome!" He pulled her into a hug. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"I don't think I have any plans." She smiled shyly.

"Would you be up to going to the movies with me?"

"Okay…" She nodded, causing Dilandau's grin to deepen.

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"So, who were you talking to after class?" Gaddess smiled knowingly at Allen's far off daydreaming expression.

"Eries…" He breathed, almost walking into a telephone pole. Even if he had walked into it, it was very unlikely he'd even notice.

Van snorted. _This is typical. Another girl so much as breaths a word to him and he goes all brain dead. I wonder how long this little crush will last for_. Looking up at the hazy grey sky, he smiled lightly. _At least he's not after Hitomi. _

"Have you ever met a girl who was cute, smart, and funny all at once?" Allen asked, to no one in particular. His gaze fluttered to his walking companions. Dryden spared him a baffled look before resuming his reading, as Gaddess looked at him cautiously.

"Are you okay, Allen?" Gaddess asked.

"Me? I'm fine. Better than fine!" Allen sighed. "Van must be going through the same feeling I am. I'd know that look anywhere."

Van blinked. "What look?"

Allen smiled brightly. "Are you thinking about her, Van?"

"What!" Van cried in alarm.

Dryden pulled his nose out of his book. "Give it a rest, Allen. Don't mind him, Van. When he gets like this…just ignore him."

"Yeah, he's kinda freaking me out too." Gaddess laughed.

"Hey, who's Dilandau walking with?" Dryden pointed across the street. They all looked in that direction with sudden interest.

"Hitomi?…" Van said in disbelief.

"It does look like her." Gaddess noted.

"No, it is her." Van stated firmly as he gaped openly at the two chatting away. "Why the hell is _he _walking with her?" He growled.

Allen shrugged. "I always see them at lunch together. Hey, I thought you were dating her, Van." Their faces mirrored each other in puzzlement.

"I'm not dating her! She's just a friend. What makes you think I'm dating her!" He gulped.

"Really! I could of swore that time--" Allen's mouth hung open slightly in shock.

"Guess you were wrong about them, Allen." Dryden chuckled.

"Shut it, Dryden!" Allen snarled.

"Why am I friends with you again?" Dryden wondered out loud, shaking his head.

Van seemed detached from the group, his attention focused on Hitomi and the intruder. "Well, I'll see you guys later…" With that, he dashed off towards Hitomi and Dilandau, leaving everyone else astonished.

"Dilandau + Van, with Hitomi in the middle. This can not be good." Gaddess said with seriousness.

Dryden nodded solemnly. "Yeah…What is Van doing? Thinking? He's crazy!"

"Tell me about it…You should have seen the look on his face when he answered Hitomi's door…Defiantly crazy." Allen said, ignoring the questionable looks coming from Gaddess and Dryden.

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"Hitomi!" Van called out with urgency.

Dilandau and Hitomi both spun around at his voice. "Hey Van!" She smiled fondly at him, while Dilandau's eyes narrowed grimly. As he glared, Dilandau methodically began to crack his knuckles.

"So, this is your new friend Hitomi?" Van gestured to Dilandau, a frown forming across his features.

"Yeah. This is Dilandau. Dilandau, this is Van." She smiled at both of them, oblivious to the tension between them.

"We've met before 'Tomi. So, how do you know Mr. High and Mighty, here?" Sharply, Dilandau jerked his thumb rudely in Van's direction. Van stood his ground with gritted teeth.

Hitomi stepped between them and blinked. _Mr. High and Mighty? _"What?…" She paused, looking at Dilandau and Van simultaneously. "Van's a friend of mine, Dilandau. I didn't know if you knew that or not. I'd appreciate it if you'd treat him better." Hitomi looked up at Dilandau with hurt eyes.

"Sorry, 'Tomi. It's just that Fanel and I aren't exactly on friendly terms with each other." Came Dilandau's cut-dry response.

"Had to state the obvious…" Behind her, Hitomi heard Van growl.

"Not on friendly terms? What do you mean?" Her gaze shifted between them rapidly with uneasiness.

Hitomi's words fell on deaf ears. "Fanel, get lost! You better leave or suffer the consequence." Dilandau smirked as he raised his fist. Hitomi went bug-eyed, rendered speechless.

Van rumbled with laughter. "What? Are you going to beat me up or something? That's rich Dilandau…Really rich. Last time you and I got into a scrap, I vividly remember--" He stepped back into a fighting stance, as Dilandau took a sharp step towards him.

"Stop it! Just stop!" Bewildered, Hitomi rushed in, stopping Dilandau in his tracks. The two looked at her with grim expressions. "Dilandau…Maybe it's best you go home. Your house isn't even near here anyways.

"'Tomi, are you taking his side?" Dilandau said, infuriated. Hitomi pulled him to one side.

"Dilandau…" She hissed. "I haven't taken anyone's 'side'. Look, I'll talk to you later about this. After the movie or something." Her eyes narrowed.

"Fine." Dilandau crossed his arms. "I don't want to be seen with _him_ anyways." He coldly remarked.

"Later Dilly!" Van smirked, waving in mock happiness.

"Rot in hell, Fanel!" Dilandau nonchalantly fingered Van before striding away.

Hitomi heaved a sigh, eyes lingering on Dilandau as he walked off. "How come you've never told me that Dilandau's your sworn enemy?" She asked a smug looking Van.

"You never asked."

"Well then, how come I've never heard about this fight you supposedly had with him?" She more demanded than asked, hands on hips.

"Come on, Hitomi. It was only one fight…If you'd even call one." The smile was wiped off his face when Hitomi shot him a dangerous look.

"What the hell is going on between you!" Her eyes blazed, searching his for an answer.

"Nothing I can't handle." He replied coolly. Hitomi grumbled inaudibly to herself. Van smiled, ignoring her anger for a few moments. "I find it surprising that Dilandau's the new 'friend', you were talking about." A chuckle escaped him.

"Actually…" Hitomi began, a blush across her cheeks replacing her former anger.

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Shuffling her feet tiredly, Hitomi swung the front door shut with a loud satisfying smack.

"Hitomi! Please don't slam the door like that!" Mrs Kanzaki protested from upstairs. Shedding her shoes, sweater, and knapsack, Hitomi forced herself to clamber up the stairs.

Upon entering the kitchen, Hitomi encountered an unusually happy Seth, contently drinking a pop at the table. "What are you so happy for?" Hitomi commented, opening the fridge, looking for a snack.

Seth beamed a pleasant smile her way. "Merle said that she has a surprise for me tomorrow. She must have bought a new game…Or she's going to buy one tomorrow." His one track mind was brimming with images of several new video games he'd been dying to get his little paws on.

"She does have a surprise. A very surprising surprise." Hitomi smirked to herself, grabbing a juice box.

"I can't wait!" Seth honestly stated.

"Neither can I."

"What?"

"You know, for her 'surprise'." Hitomi openly laughed at his puzzled face.

"Wait a second…" Seth fingered his chin. "Why would she tell you about the surprise?" Hitomi shrugged, playing dumb. Juice box in hand, she strolled into the living room.

Seth's mouth dropped when yet another thought came to him. "Hitomi, you're in on the whole surprise thing, aren't you?"

Hitomi giggled at the accusation in his voice. "Maybe…"

"You are in on it!" Seth shouted, high tailing it into the living room. "So, what's the surprise, Hitomi?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Hitomi grinned triumphantly, claiming the T.V remote in the process.

Seth could only whine and pout. "Please?" He pleaded with an eager smile.

"Sorry."

"But you're my favourite sister!"

"I'm your only sister, Seth. I win that title by default." Sighing, Hitomi turned the T.V on to shut him out.

"Oh yea… Forgot about that." Hitomi rolled her eyes at him.

"Seth…" She sighed again, annoyance apparent in her tone.

"What?"

"You know 'what'."

Seth shrugged innocently, a cheeky smirk glued to his face. "Whatever, Sis. I'm going downstairs." Letting out a small laugh, he trudged downstairs.

"Typical." Hitomi shook her head lightly, flicking mindlessly through the channels.

Although it seemed she was enthralled by the television, Hitomi's thoughts were far away from being focused on its buzzing screen. _A date with Dilandau tonight…_It was finally starting to sink in The upcoming date pleased her as much as it didn't. Van had made it painfully obvious that he hated Dilandau's guts. He had ranted on for minutes about how much of an ass he was, when she told him about their date together. It posed an awkward situation for Hitomi. Already, Dilandau had asked her if she took Van's side in that conflict after school.

Hitomi bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to take sides with anyone. Was that possible? She hadn't known Dilandau for very long, where as she'd known Van her entire life. It posed an awkward situation for her.

"Hitomi, Yukari's on the phone." Mrs Kanzaki walked leisurely into the living room with the phone in hand.

Hitomi blinked briefly, pulling her eyes off the bright television screen. "Oh? Thanks…" Mrs Kanzaki smiled down at her daughter as she took the phone. As quickly as she came, she left, leaving Hitomi to her phone conversation.

"Hey Yukari, isn't Amano over or something?" Hitomi asked as she stretched herself out along the couch.

"No." Yukari huffed in response. "He's going to Allen's house for dinner."

"Good old family gatherings." Hitomi smiled.

"So…" Hitomi could hear Yukari flop down onto her bed on the other side of the line. "How was the walk home with Dilandau?" The red-head teased.

"Van interrupted it. Did you know that those two hate each other?" Hitomi inquired.

"No, I didn't know. Why do they hate each other?" Yukari asked with anticipation.

"Van wouldn't say." Hitomi frowned.

"Is that so? Okay, what did you talk to Dilandau about today?" She smoothly changed the subject.

"Well…I did end up telling him I was single." Hitomi felt her face burn up. "He asked me out." She managed shyly.

"OH! Did he? Did you say yes!" Yukari's voice lit up with excitement.

"…Yeah."

Yukari squealed with delight. "I told you so!"

"I know, I know…" Hitomi half-sulked.

"Now you won't be going to Millerna's party by yourself! We can all go together! You, Dilandau, Amano, and I!"

"Okay!" Hitomi smiled. She couldn't help but be pulled into her friend's ecstatic enthusiasm.

"This is gonna be great!" Yukari exclaimed. The raindrops pattering against Hitomi's window couldn't dull her happiness.

"Yeah!…Hey, you're still coming to the mall with Merle and I tomorrow, right?"

"Of course! Wouldn't miss the chance to pick clothes out for Merle for the world."

"Good. Just checking." Hitomi paused to check the clock. "I better go. I'm going to the movies with Dilandau…He'll be here in a few hours to pick me up."

Yukari giggled. "Alright. Have fun!"

"Kay, talk to ya later."

"Bye, Hitomi."

"Bye." Hitomi shut the phone off with a click, placing it on her night stand. Running her hands through her short hair, Hitomi's chest heaved with a heavy sigh. "Better tell mom where I'm going." She muttered to herself.

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It was nearing half past six when Hitomi and the rest of her family sat down for dinner.

"What time will you be back at?"

"Is this Dilandau a decent guy?"

"When did you meet him?"

"How old is he? Is he in your grade?"

Her parents took turns drilling questions at her with efficiency. Seth observed quietly, munching numbly on his food.

"I-We should be back around 8:30. Dilandau--" She was cut off suddenly, and very abruptly. All the lights in the house went black, leaving them in a dark room. "--is a nice enough guy…" Hitomi blinked into the darkness.

Mr Kanzaki stood up from the table, and walked to the kitchen window. "Great. A power outage." Guess it was raining harder than everyone thought.

"I'll get the candles." Mrs Kanzaki announced cheerfully.

"This better not last long…" Seth mumbled, resting his chin on the table. A frown etching itself onto his face. With no power, he wouldn't be able to play his computer games.

"Yeah…" Hitomi breathed.

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_The power just had to go out, didn't it? _Hitomi stared in boredom across the candlelit room. Her eyes slowly crawled up the wall hesitantly, afraid that 7:30 had gone and past.

"I don't think you'll be going to the movies tonight." Mr Kanzaki said with an apologetic smile. "Maybe another night."

Hitomi nodded sadly. It was 7:45. No movie tonight.

"Don't look so glum, Hitomi." Her mother said. "How about we all go over to visit Varie and them until we get the power back?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure!" Seth said with interest. "Anything instead of just sitting around here."

"Sounds like a good idea." Mr Kanzaki agreed with his wife and son. Together, their heads swivelled towards Hitomi, awaiting her word of approval.

"…Okay. Sure." Hitomi laughed nervously. Their stares were a tad bit on the freaky side.

Mrs Kanzaki clapped her hands together happily "Great! Let's get--"

A deep knock came from the front door. Moments later, the door creaked open slowly and footsteps padded on the hard tile.

"Hey guys! We came to keep you company!" Merle's boisterous voice boomed as she thumped up the stairs. Following her came Mrs and Mr Fanel with Van lingering far behind. They were welcomed readily into the living room, chatter filling the once quiet house. As the their parents talked earnestly, Merle practically bounced up to Seth with a huge grin on her face.

"I brought my Game-boy with me. Do ya wanna take turns playing it with me?" She asked, knowing very well he couldn't say no.

"Do I ever!" Seth pumped his fist into the air.

Merle laughed. "Come on! Let's go play it till the power comes back on." Preoccupied with that, they both disappeared downstairs.

Hitomi remained silent, eyes darting to the clock every so often. Time seemed to be at a stand-still for her. Van sat quietly as well, half listening to whatever his parents were talking to the Kanzaki's about. Cautiously, he glanced over at Hitomi. His hatred for Dilandau had increased ten fold today, since learning that he'd asked her out and she'd actually agreed. In his books, Dilandau was worse than Allen. Much worse. Taking in a deep breath, he made his way to Hitomi, sitting on the chair on the other side of the room. Van didn't want things to become awkward between them.

"Hey." He said shyly.

"Hey." She smiled sadly back.

"Um…I'm guessing you couldn't go to the movies with Dilandau, huh?" Van drew his fingers through his thick hair.

"Yeah…Stupid weather causing a damn power outage." She muttered, looking up at him.

"Heh heh…Yeah, stupid weather." A slow smile spread over his face. Mentally he thanked the power for going out. "So, what does a guy have to do around here to get something to eat?" He asked hopefully.

Hitomi took his hint, boldly rolling her green eyes at him. "There's probably something in the kitchen I can make for you. There's not much I can make since the power's out but I'll see what we have." Sighing, she got up out of her chair and dragged Van by the arm towards the kitchen.

Mrs Fanel and Mrs Kanzaki shared a small smile as they walked past. Van's grin must have stretched from ear to ear.

Hitomi pulled the fridge door open, squinting at its contents through the dark. "Let me see…We have some fruit here you can have or I could make you a sandwich." She suggested.

"Hey, what's in here?" Van picked up a container, lifting its lid to sniff its contents.

"It looks like noodles to me." She shrugged. "I don't think you want to eat that. I don't have a microwave to heat it with."

Van pondered this for a moment, rubbing his chin. Hitomi ignored him, still rummaging through the fridge. When she turned around again, she found him with a fork in his hand, about to dig in.

"Gross Van! You're actually going to eat that!" Hitomi exclaimed, clearly shocked.

"Come on, Hitomi. It's not that bad!" Van defended himself, after taking a mouthful. "Although, it is missing something…" Smirking he pulled a bottle from the fridge, squeezing it over his snack.

"What do you think you're doing! You're putting ketchup on that! That's so nasty!" Hitomi sounded appalled.

"Cold Kraft Dinner and ketchup. Mmmm mmm good!" Van managed between mouthfuls.

"Sick! Sick! Sick! I can't believe you, Van!" Hitomi stared at him with wide eyes.

Van stopped eating for a moment to grin at her. "You want some? It's actually really good!"

In response, Hitomi grabbed the hand towel hanging from the fridge door and threw it at him. "You're such a freak! Eating nasty cold Kraft Dinner with ketchup…disgusting."

"Fine, more for me. You can't say that I didn't ask." Laughing at her grossed out expression, he continued to shovel Kraft Dinner into his mouth.

_It's going to be a long night..._Shaking her head lightly, Hitomi sat down at the kitchen table, praying that the power came back on soon.

**AN: **is it just me oris this chapter seemreally long?

Dunno when I'll have the next chappie up. Soon hopefully. Ya never know, maybe I'll get a good start on it Tuesday (that is, if the teacher's strike is still going)

**DestinyForetold**: Okay okay okay, I hear you loud and clear. I updated! lol, do I get the cookie now? Mmmm extra big cookie (drools). My Chemical Romance is awesome! (grins) my 2 fav songs are Helena and Cemetery Drive. Aww too bad u couldn't go to that concert. That has to suck. . Anyhoo hoped u liked this chapter.

**animeLCgrl: **Heh heh…I kinda knocked Allen outa the square thing I had going ;;…Dilandau's here to stay I guess…For now that is.

**ann, white wolf 356, Kathya**: Thank you so much for the reviews guys! They're much appreciated.

**Sakura Minamino: **Glad you found it funny:P thanks for the review.

**FluffieGirlie: **lmao, thankies for the review.

**Inda: **Yup, Van's falling. Slowly but surely. Thanks for your reviews and I hoped you liked this chapter.

**majka: **(grins) thanks for the review...and I hope to mess up their emotional life more. :P lol

**Pure hope:** Whaaaaa I haven't talked to you in so long:( Man, school keeps me busy. I barely have time for anything else. lol, how are things going with school and stuff? You haven't updated any of ur stories in awhile. I hope you do soon.

**queenyasha: **Thanks a bunch for ur encouragement! lmao LONG LIVE ESCA! Couldn't have said it better myself. :P

**Angelofdarkness1566: **THANK YOU! You read and review most of my other stories. I couldn't thank you enough. (hands you a cookie)

**kmmgirly : **lmao, thanks for the compliment. It reminds you of yourself and a guy you know? O.o, that's too funny. lol, hope you liked this chapter.

Happy turkey day! (i know, its not thanksgiving today..but it is tommorow) Leave me some comments and let me know what you thought! Laters :D


	12. Halloween part one

Chapter 12 :**Halloween part one**

3/11/05

AN: OMG! Sorry! Very sorry! Unbelievably sorry! Ack, this was supposed to be up days ago. (sighs) This is longer than I thought it was going to be. (tho, it didn't look like that much on paper) I will have more up very soon!

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Silence hung in the air throughout the Kanzaki household, broken only by the grandfather clock down the hall, rhythmically ticking back and forth. It was still well into the wee hours in the morning. The sun still had yet to rise.

Van nuzzled his face deeper into the pillow he was so contently clutching to, blissfully ignorant of the grin spreading over his mouth. You see, he was having a very pleasant dream someone had ran Dilandau over with an abnormally large lawnmower, leaving Hitomi a bit sad but very single. A slight chuckle escaped his lips, muffled by the pillow. He was about to over his sincerest condolences to Hitomi, when he felt something kick him sharply.

"Mmmph!" He responded with grogginess. Lifting his head off his pillow, he found himself comfortably curled up in the corner of the Kanzaki's living room couch. He rubbed his eyes lightly, and looked at the figure sleeping soundly beside him. Van smiled to himself. _It's just Hitomi. Must've fallen asleep. _He mused to himself.

Hitomi stirred slightly, stretching her legs out in another kick. Van frowned in annoyance. Rolling his eyes, he was about to resume sleeping, when Hitomi booted him again.

"Hitomi!" He whined, groaning quietly. Another blow followed. "Stop it!" Mumbling under his breath, he sat up, and glanced at her sleeping face. She looked sort of comical with her mouth hanging open slightly, light snores bubbling from her mouth, and her dishevelled hair spreading every which way. For looking so carefree and peaceful, he forgave her for being a pain in the ass. Literally.

Hitomi emitted a tiny snort, causing Van to laugh. "You have to stop acting so cute." He whispered fondly. "If you don't, I might start falling for you."

Van sighed remorsefully. _Where did that come from? _In thought he looked up at the ceiling with a bitter smile on his face. "I can't believe you're dating him of all people. He's the most violent guy I've ever met. Not to mention how much of an ass he is. You're just so opposite from that. Well, I mean you can get a little violent…" Van paused for a second when he realised how stupid he probably sounded right about now. He was talking to someone who was sleeping. Sighing, he continued on. "What I'm getting at is you've put me in a very precarious situation. He's bad new waiting to happen, but don't worry…I've got your back. I hope you know that. Nothing bad is going to happen to you if I can help it. How that asshole ended up with a date with a sweet person like you is beyond me." He smiled down at her, listening to her slow deep breaths. "Too bad you weren't awake to hear all that." He sadly smiled. "Well, goodnight Hitomi."

Van closed his eyes wearily, however he couldn't fall back asleep again. His mind kept lingering to the image of Dilandau and his little friends glaring at him with hateful eyes.

/Flashback/ 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_Dilandau haughtily surveyed his surroundings with a toothy grin. It became broader (if it was possible) as he brushed his thumb down the shaft of his lighter he was never seen without. Leaning up against the fence with his friends, he felt oh so confident and smug. Miguel, Gatti, Guimel, Shesta, And Viole all mirrored him, looking equally relaxed._

"_Nice day." Gatti commented, with a chipper demeanour._

"_Whatever." Miguel replied, flipping his hair away from his eyes. Dilandau grunted, and the others maintained their silence._

"_I don't know why we always stand on this side of the street. I mean, why don't we go stand on the other side? There's shade over there at least." Gatti carried on, knowing that no one really cared._

"_Well, if you wanna go over there, be my guest. I'll stay over here. I'm too tired to move anyways." Viole sighed._

_Gatti rolled his eyes and frowned. _Kill joys…

"_Not that I care or anything, but I like it better over here. Watching those stupid karate kids come out of that school amuses me. They don't know how ridiculous they look in those damn Pyjama uniforms." Guimel added, punctuating his sentence with a laugh._

"_Know what ya mean. I bet all that fancy footwork and jibber--whatever else they do, is all for show." Dilandau said, snickering openly. "Bunch of pansy show-offs" They all chuckled slightly, breaking their quiet for a few moments._

_The minutes ticked by, spent gazing blandly across the street. Not much happened. The odd person walked by, casting a weary glance at the sour looking teenagers._

_Again, the peace was disrupted, not by Dilandau or his company this time. The doors of the local elementary school creaked open, leaking children and teenagers alike out. Figures decked out in white filled the parking lot, parents herding their children into their vehicles, the children goofing off and laughing as they did._

_Shesta shifted slightly, wrinkling his nose. "Annoying brats."_

_Dilandau sniffed harshly. "Got that right."_

_Crisp footsteps sounded on the sidewalk, causing Viole's head to turn sharply._

"_He looks familiar." Gatti mumbled. Viole nodded._

_The figure walked nonchalantly towards them, dark navy duffel bag draped over one shoulder with a brilliant blue belt peeking out of the half unzipped bag._

"_Heh, he's one of those Karate freaks." Miguel said arrogantly._

"_How would you know? He's wearing street clothes." Gatti challenged, noticing the boy's black jeans and red hoodie._

"_Gatti, you moron! Look at his bag." He said in a hushed tone._

"_Oh…" Gatti said slowly, realising his mistake._

_The teen walked by, ignoring the 6 pairs of eyes following his every move._

"_I have to admit, he does look familiar. Wonder if he goes to our school." Dilandau wondered out loud._

"_He does." Miguel sighed. "Don't you remember? That's the kid that bumped you in the cafeteria yesterday. He's the one who caused you to bump into that girl holding the nachos. You got cheese all over your shirt because of him." He said, folding his arms smartly across his chest._

"_Same kid?" Dilandau inquired, gritting his teeth angrily._

"_Same kid." Miguel smirked coolly as Dilandau balled his fist. "Wouldn't do that if I were you, Boss. He knows…Karate!" Miguel mocked a scandalous gasp. He proceeded to make a parody of a karate chop, making an exaggerated war cry simultaneously._

"_That's the guy who was walking through the cafeteria like he owned the place? The bastard's in Karate too. So, he thinks he's better than me, eh. Thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants since he's got a damn belt. Well, he better think twice…" Dilandau ranted on, becoming more pissed as each second past._

"_Dilandau, you're over-reacting . It was probably--"_

"_SHUT UP GATTI!" Dilandau yelled, causing the black-haired teen to look back. Shaking his head, he continued on walking. Dilandau noticed his pause and snarled. "If he thinks he can just walk away…" Dilandau mumbled dangerously. Without wasting another moment, Dilandau left the fence boldly, off to stir up some trouble._

"_Dilandau!" Gatti, called out after him, to no avail._

"_Hey! Who do you think you are!" Dilandau proclaimed bluntly. The black-haired youth turned around with a perplexed expression._

"_Excuse me?" He replied with an edgy tone._

"_Don't get all cocky with me! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Dilandau said. His friends could only look on, talking amongst themselves._

"_What the hell are you talking about?" The youth replied coldly. "It's obvious you're the one looking for the fight." He said irritably, maintaining eye contact with Dilandau._

"_Smart guy, eh? I'll teach you not to mess with me!" The boy stared at him, completely unaffected._

"_Whatever. I don't have time for this." The boy said back, regarding Dilandau with deep maroon eyes._

_Bursting with rage, Dilandau raised his fist violently, taking a step forward with a blow aimed at the middle of the other boy's head. However, the youth seemed to anticipate this, dropping his bag, blocking the attack swiftly. He then followed through, grabbing his attacker's forearm, and stepped forward, moving his leg behind the back of Dilandau's. With his other hand, the teen forcefully pushed Dilandau back, sending him off balance. Dilandau's eyes widened dramatically as he was flipped over onto the rough pavement. It happed so fast that he didn't have any time to react. He didn't fully realise what happened until he hit the pavement's hard surface._

_As Dilandau lay sprawled out on the sidewalk with the wind knocked completely out of him, the black-haired youth calmly picked up his bag and returned it to its spot over his shoulder._

"_I don't know what your problem is but leave me the hell alone." He said before walking away. Viole, Guimel, Miguel, Shesta, and Gatti stared at his retreating back with disbelief._

"_What the $& just happened here?" Miguel voiced the thoughts of everyone present._

_/End of Flashback/00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000_

"Psycho path…" Van mumbled to the ceiling as he remembered the first confrontation he'd had with Dilandau. He never found out why Dilandau was out to get him that day, but he did know that since that day, Dilandau seemed to have a personal vendetta towards him. Naturally, Van mutually returned the feeling. _Hitomi, you've got to develop a better taste in men. For my sake. _A lone chuckle escaped his mouth as the kitchen light spontaneously came back on. _About time the power came back on. _Gently shutting his eyes, he waited for dawn.

0000000000000000

"Okay, we've got to book it people! We've only got four hours and time's a wasting!" Yukari declared, pointing a finger into the air. Hitomi gulped nervously. Her friend was being way too over-dramatic for her own good (yet again).

"Hitomi!" She whined. "Don't just stand there! MOVE! NOW!" The red-head demanded.

Suppressing a sigh, Hitomi allowed herself to be pulled along by her friend. "Thanks for the ride Mr Fanel! We appreciated it!" She managed to call out.

Mr Fanel waved from the car. "No problem. I'll be here to pick you up at around five O'clock. Have fun shopping!" He replied with a cheerful smile.

"Thanks again. Bye!" After a few minutes of being dragged into the store, and into their favourite clothing store, Yukari noticed that a crucial member from their party was missing.

"Where's Merle?" She asked, eyes darting around.

"She went off that way." Hitomi pointed towards Future Shop. "I would have told you sooner if I hadn't been too busy trying to reclaim my arm."

Yukari's face broke into an innocent Cheshire grin. "Heh…heh." She took the hint and let go of Hitomi's arm. "That little sneak…" Yukari fumed, stalking off towards Future Shop.

As Hitomi stood there watching, she seriously considered mysteriously 'disappearing' . "Poor Merle." She sympathised with an amused giggle.

0000000000000000000

Inquisitive blue eyes inspected racks upon racks of colourful T-shirts, belts, and sweaters. "So…Much….Stuff." Merle moaned. This wasn't her type of scene. "Oooo look at this one!" Merle's eyes went wide with delight. She pulled an orange shirt off one of the racks, admiring the cute kitten on the front of it.

Yukari was instantly behind her to offer her advice. "Cute! Let's see if we can get it in a smaller size."

"Nah, this one will fit perfectly."

"Merle, if you haven't noticed…It's a large." Yukari stated

"Yeah, but I like loose fitting stuff." Merle stuck her tongue out, refusing to put it back on the rack.

"It's not going to happen Merle. It's way too big for you." Yukari rolled her eyes and wandered off, browsing for more clothes that would suit Merle.

"Merle, come over here! You gotta try on these jeans!" Hitomi called, standing in front of the change rooms with an armful of clothes. The younger girl complied, beaming happily.

Hitomi transferred the load into Merle's arms and ushered her into the change room.

"Hitomi, these jeans look so tiny!" Merle voiced loudly.

"That's because you are tiny Merle." Hitomi sighed. She waited just outside the change room door, silently laughing as Merle continued to complain under her breath.

"Okay, I'm coming out!" Merle announced, opening the door hesitantly. She stood anxiously wearing the jeans Hitomi picked out with a black shirt.

Hitomi clapped her hands together triumphantly. "Told you they would fit. Yukari, come see!" She called out enthusiastically.

Yukari walked over leisurely, nodding her approval. "I always knew there was a girl underneath those baggy clothes. Looks like we found her." She said, smiling smugly.

Merle grinned brightly. "Great, it fits! Are we done now?" She asked curiously. Hitomi shook her head slowly.

"Nope, I have more for you to try on." Grinning encouragingly, she pointed at the change rooms. "Now, get your butt back in there."

000000000000

Four hours later, (and a few large shopping bags) the trio directly marched into Merle's room upon arriving, emptying the bounty of clothes onto Merle's bed.

"Where do we start first?" Merle asked. If she was a cat, her tail would have been wiggling anxiously as she stared at the big pile in front of her.

Yukari tapped her bottom lip, eyes scanning the pile from top to bottom. Dark red eyebrows squished together, she pulled a few articles of clothing. "Okay, put this on and we'll do your hair and stuff after." She promptly handed over a black T-shirt with a mischievous looking happy face on the front of it, along with a pair of dark blue jeans.

"Alright! I wonder how mom will like this?" Merle chuckled. Just as Merle closed the bathroom door down the hallway, Mrs Fanel wandered in, to satisfy her curiosity of what Merle bought with the money she gave her to buy new clothes with.

"Hello girls. Just thought I'd stop by to see what you're up to in here." She laughed.

"Hey Mrs Fanel." Hitomi smiled. "Where's Van? I didn't see him when we came in." She asked, as Mrs Fanel began looking through Merle's new clothes.

"Went over to your house, I think. He was hinting at it. That's probably where he is." Her soft maroon eyes lit up as she lifted a T-shirt up. "This is cute. How'd you convince her to buy this one? She probably would have turned her nose up at it if I'd suggested it." She chuckled.

"Yeah…" Hitomi said, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Anyways, I'll just let you be now." Mrs Fanel said, heading for the door. She waved contently before closing the door slowly behind her.

"Van sure does seem to be over at your house a lot lately, Hitomi." Yukari smirked, hands on her hips. "I wonder why." She said playfully, inclining her eyebrow at her friend.

"Yukari, stop that. Van and I aren't like that at all!" Hitomi felt her face flush.

"Okay, if you say so. But I'm watching you two. You never know, Dilandau may not be the best match for you." Yukari winked shamelessly.

"Yukari!" Hitomi protested, her face going a deep strawberry red.

"What?" The red-head said innocently, delightfully amused at Hitomi's deep blush. "Just joking, Hitomi. You take everything so seriously." She laughed. Hitomi grumbled incoherently and gave her a shove.

0000000000000

About half and hour later (and a good deal of shopping bags), Hitomi and Yukari grinned at each other with a sense of accomplishment. They had just finished with Merle's hair , applying a little touch of mascara and eyeliner to her eyes, along with a dab of lip gloss. They were finally ready to hand Merle a mirror to see the end result.

"Finished Merle!" Yukari exclaimed, handing Merle a mirror with a wave of her hand.

Merle took the mirror from her shyly, almost hesitantly. Looking at her reflection, she blinked. "Wow, I look…Different." She said, angling her head side to side to get a better look at herself.

"That's the point Merle." Hitomi said, rolling her eyes merrily. "So, what do you think

"Huh? Oh…I like it but I doubt I could do this every day." She smiled half apologetically. "But…um…Thank you. You know…For helping me pick out the clothes." Merle smiled shyly.

"It was our pleasure." Hitomi smiled.

"Yep, we should do this again." Yukari added, looking at her wristwatch. "Look at the time! Hitomi, we've gotta go get my costume for the party. It's still sitting in my room!"

"Okay, okay! Well, see you later, Merle!" She waved briefly before trailing after her friend.

"Bye!" Merle smiled, shaking her head slightly at how rushed they seemed.

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Hitomi sat in front of her vanity mirror, diligently putting the finishing touches on her costume for the party. "Do you think I put too much eyeliner on?" She turned around, allowing her friend to have a look.

"Considering that you're going as a Goth…I'd say no." Yukari smirked. "And I have to admit, you are looking like a pretty gothic Goth."

Hitomi smiled, her painted black lips parting slightly. "Thanks. You're looking really devilish yourself."

Yukari giggled, twirling the tail of her devil-lady costume around idly. "Did you call Dilandau?" She said, eyes twinkling with laughter. The fire-red eye shadow she had on was bold, but it suited her outfit perfectly. Hitomi nodded with an amused look. "Well then, are we going to pick him, or what?" Yukari asked, adjusting the devil-horns on the top of her head. "You don't have to worry about picking Amano up. He said he'd meet me at the party."

"Sure, I'll go tell my mom we're ready to go." Hitomi stood up, chains hanging from her neck and baggy black pants rattling together metallically. In the hallway they ran into Seth, who looked slightly peeved.

"Finally, we can go. What took you?" He asked, looking dashing in his Zorro costume.

"Girl stuff." Hitomi replied simply, Seth didn't press her further.

"So, you're going trick-or-treating?" Yukari asked with a smile.

"Duh! Who could possibly try to resist free candy? I'm going with Merle, as usual." Came his immediate response.

"Awww!" Yukari crooned. "How sweet!" At that, Seth blushed, but didn't say anything. Hitomi chuckled softly. Together, they all trudged down the hallway.

Mrs Kanzaki stood at the top of the stairs, camera in hand. "Smile you guys!" She said sweetly, allowing them a few moments to pose. The camera's flash lit up the hallway for a few short seconds, a click travelling through the air. "Okay, everyone's ready now? Let's go."

In moments, everyone was in the van, teetering on the edge of their seats with excitement. (Minus Mrs Kanzaki of course) "First stop, the Fanel's house, to pick up Merle and Van." She chirped. Hitomi felt her gut become icy. Dilandau and Van in the same vehicle didn't settle to well with her.

They briefly pulled into the Fanel's driveway to pick Merle and Van up. Merle took the seat beside Seth, wearing a cat costume underneath her jacket. Van on the other hand, looked slightly intimidating in his Vampire costume.

"Hi Seth!" Merle beamed as Seth grumbled.

"Some 'surprise', Merle." Seth sighed. "It's not what I was expecting."

Merle chuckled, poking his arm a few times. "You thought it was _that _game, didn't you?"

"Maybe…So what?" He replied, sounding like he didn't give a damn about the game or the fact that her surprise did surprise him. "What are you laughing at?" He said, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing…" Merle said, swallowing her laughter for a moment

"Hey." Van greeted Yukari and Hitomi in the very back of the van as he opened the front door of the van and sat down in the passenger's seat.

"Hey yourself." Hitomi laughed. "Why didn't you wake me up before you left? Nice costume by the way."

Van flashed a grin at her. "You looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart to wake you up." He confessed. At that, Yukari stifled a few chuckles behind a hand and Hitomi blushed faintly at the thought of Van staring at her while she was asleep.

"Mom! Aren't you going to drop us off!" Seth complained loudly, pointing to himself and Merle.

"Be patient! I have to make a few more stops, then I'll drop you off. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you." Mrs Kanzaki scolded with irritation. "Dilandau lives down Shtal avenue right, Hitomi? House number 8403?"

"Yeah…" Hitomi said meekly with an unsteady voice, crunching her hands into tight balls in her lap. She hoped Dilandau wouldn't start anything with Van. That was the last thing she wanted her mother seeing. Her shoulders tensed as her mother turned down his street and pulled into his driveway. There was no need to ring the doorbell, he was already out on his front stoop waiting for her to pick him up.

He stood up to his full height, and slowly approached the car.

**AN: **thanks for the reviews guys!

**EB, Annie, witch of fire, Inda, D310usP4an4, inu'sdarkangel89, and inuyashalover9565 -** thanks for the reviews peoples! Loved them (hands you a big platter of cookies) :D hope you enjoy.

**f-zelda- **Hi! lmao, Van is green with envy. I wonder what he's gonna do about Dilandau (smiles evilly lol jking) Thank you so much for the review:D

**Destiny Foretold- **O.o wow, what a nice review! Long too! How did I come up with his character? (pauses to think for a sec) urm well it's sort of based on the way my dad acts…He can be really serious one moment and very random and kinda silly the next. Now that I think about it, he makes really good cookies too (although he's not cookie obsessed like Van :P), and he eats odd stuff. Once, I sat at the kitchen table watching him make a peanut butter and cheese wiz sandwich for work. No joke! lol, I think I've kept him in character as best I could. This is an AU after-all :P. (Grins broadly) As for Allen, oooo I'm so mean to him! He's awesome, but I can't help but bash him…BUT NOT HIS HAIR:D I'm quite taken with his hair. I'm not going to deny that. Heeheehee, some tomato soup would be nice:P (the chow main sounds tempting though) wow this reply is long, feels like I'm writing a letter, lmao. If you wanna you could add me to ur msn. Chow!

**Xanthia Nightshade: **Hello! Yea, I'm allowed back on the comp now ;; so happie! Don't worry I'll be sure to update soon. I hope you get around to updating your fic Of Guns and Roses! I love it!

**Angelofdarkness1566 -** Hey! Thanks a bunch for reviewing . The school strike ended (thank goodness) I'm really happy about that. (hands you a nice slice of strawberry cheese cake) Hope you enjoyed.

**FuyuSarah- **Thanks for all your kind words and compliments! (blushes) hope this doesn't disappoint. I'm relived to hear that I kept the characters sort of in character. Thank you for the review. :D

**elena-maria**- LMAO, I'd love to meet a guy who's obsessed with cookies that much too. That would be interesting, wouldn't it? (grins) I'd like to see you update soon. You left me hanging, lol! Thanks for your reviews! I'm glad you like my fic too.

**Hanako110 - **I have to agree with you. Cold Kraft dinner with ketchup is just gross, nasty…BLEH! A little girl I know eats Kraft dinner just like that. I don't know how she can stand to…but she does!. heh heh, I love Kraft Dinner although…I wouldn't eat it like that. Thanks for the review.

**Shizuka-na Tenshi- **(grins) aww yea I feel sorry for the poor guy too. Dilandau's getting way too close to Hitomi for comfort for him. Thanks a bunch for the review, and I hope you liked this chapter. :D

**Tigger093061- **There will be more V/H soon. Thanks for the review. :D

**Pure hope- **OMG! I'm really really very very sorry for not updating sooner. (eyes widen as you take out a wet noodle) Eeeeek! NOT THE WET NOODLE! (faints) lmao, talk to ya later Cat!

**Kathya- **OKIES! I'll write more (starts typing madly). Thanks for the review:D

**CHICA DE LA LUNA FANTASMA: **Kick ass name! Thanks for the compliment, and the nice and urm…PEACHY…review, lmao. :P Van and Dilly are nice…but I like Allen the best ;;. (hands you a cookie) Here ya go, you don't have to go down aisle four! lmao. :D

**Kogayjilynz- **Thankies! I'll do my very best to update soon. :D

Thanks to all the reviewers and the readers! You may take a handful of virtual chocolate left over from Halloween with you on your way out.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN**: Sorry it took me so long to update! Really, I am! I'll have to reply to previous reviews later beacuse well, I really just want to get this up! Part three is coming up somtime soon!lol, how was that for short?

**Dedication**: This chapter is dedicated to Destiny Foretold, who is now officially a giggle-butt. XD

Halloween Part 3

As Dilandau approached the van, Hitomi gaped openly along with Yukari. They couldn't help it. The costume he was wearing was so…Unexpected. There he stood grinning proudly, van door swung open, garbed head to toe in a…Fireman's costume? Indeed it was, complete with bright red suspenders, a thick red jacket left fashionably open to reveal a light cream coloured T-shirt, and a red fireman's helmet. His costume seemed to contradict most of his actions. The boy was passively fingering a lighter in his right hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Hey, 'Tomi!" He greeted his date happily, taking the seat next to her. Seth slammed the van door shut without sparing Dilandau another glance. "Hey, Yukari…" Dilandau nodded to the devil-lady, shifting his attention simultaneously to the people sitting in the seats in front of him. "Nice to meet you, 'Tomi's brother and girl sitting beside 'Tomi's brother." Seth looked back at the silver-haired teen and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever…" Merle mumbled.

Ignoring Merle's comment, Dilandau continued with his lengthy greeting. "Hey 'Tomi's mom. I'm Dilandau, if you haven't already guessed. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." His smile faltered when his crimson eyes locked onto the person sitting in the front passenger's seat. "Van. Isn't this a wonderful surprise?" He slid his finger down one side of his face with a pale finger. "I do hate surprises…" He growled under his breath.

Hitomi gave Dilandau a nudge when she heard his teeth harshly grinding together. "Please don't start anything. Please." She whispered to him quietly. Dilandau offered her a small smile, his teeth grinding coming instantly to a halt.

Mrs. Kanzaki gave Dilandau a tight smile to acknowledge his hello. Van only glared.

The ride to the Aston residence was a silent one, excluding Dilandau's constant knee tapping. His eyes remained focused on the back of Van's head. It was hard to miss his open display of dislike. Hitomi and Yukari shared a nervous glance.

Jerking the van to a stop, Mrs. Kanzaki turned her head around towards the back seat, making sure she had eye contact with her daughter. "Okay, here's how it's going to be. I'll be giving you my cell phone to call me when you need to be picked up. Oh and remember…No--"

"--Drugs, alcohol, sex…I think we get the picture." Hitomi chuckled. Her mother rolled her eyes and nodded before promptly handing her the cell phone.

"Try to call before one O'clock, please. I don't want to stay up too late waiting for you." Mrs Kanzaki warned.

Sighing, Hitomi nodded. "Yes, mom." Dilandau, Yukari, and Hitomi exited the car together, craning their heads up to look at Millerna's massive house. From where they were standing, the house looked like a large darkish sheet with square holes poked through it allowing a deep yellow-orange light to escape out into the gloom. The air around them vibrated. A faint sound of booming music drew Hitomi's eyes, and her interest. Dilandau meandered towards the house, silently encouraging Hitomi to follow him. She did, Yukari calmly keeping up with her.

Van watched them for a moment, feeling like a stalker behind the vehicle's window. Every time his eyes glazed over Dilandau's profile, his stomach managed to tangle itself into tiny knots. He slowly opened the door with a nervous but calculated hand, moving his feet to meet the gritty driveway.

"Van, I shouldn't be even saying this but-- Do you think you could keep an eye out for her? Yukari too. You can never be too careful." Mrs Kanzaki timidly asked, giving him a small smile. "Not that I don't trust her or anything." She added as an after-thought.

Brushing back his liquidly black hair, Van smiled ruefully. "Sure thing." She didn't even need to mention it. He was going to watch her back anyways, the thanks mostly going to Dilandau.

"Thanks, Van. Oh, and have fun!" Mrs Kanzaki waved good-bye in a kindly fashion as Van closed the van door firmly shut. Smoothing out his long black and red vampire cloak, Van trudged after the group in front of him, silently musing to himself.

He clambered up the steps awkwardly as he kept stepping on the end of his blasted cloak. Grumbling to himself, he seriously considered discarding it. The door was already open. Van caught sight of the bottom of Hitomi's pants as she walked upstairs. There was a woman standing just inside the door to his right dressed in a Cleopatra's outfit. She looked him up and down, eyeing his own costume.

"You're here for the party as well, correct?" She asked him in a bored voice, crossing her arms.

"Yea…" He muttered dully.

Cleopatra pointed upstairs with absolutely no enthusiasm. "Everyone's upstairs."

"Thanks." Van flashed her a tiny grin before slipping off his shoes, and bounding up the stairs.

000000000000000000000000000000

Hitomi giggled at Yukari after she announced that she was going to search for Amano. That only left her and Dilandau. Smirking, Dilandau nudged her. "Come on, I have to properly introduce you to some of my friends." Hitomi smiled at him in agreement. They made their way to a group of boys in various costumes that seemed to be just brooding off to one side.

"Hey boys, what's up?" Dilandau laughed.

"Not much. There's no booze here." Miguel complained as he pouted, pulling up the eye patch of his pirate's costume, annoyed at its presence.

"Yea, that Eries chick is watching everyone like a hawk with those creepy icy eyes of hers." Guimel added, looking outrageously hilarious in his gangster costume. His fro looked like a giant fish bowl with a comb sticking out of it.

"The one in the Cleopatra costume." Miguel added.

"That sucks." Dilandau agreed.

"So um, you having fun so far?" Gatti shyly asked Hitomi, his blush almost rivalling the bright red shade his M&M costume was sporting.

"Yea, I guess. I just got here." Hitomi shrugged.

"I'm not having fun." Shesta grumbled, big blue eyes peeking out of the linen folds of his mummy costume.

"I wonder why." Viole laughed. "I don't know whether it's your costume or the fact that every time you ask a girl to dance…she turns you down."

Shesta sniffed indignantly, thrusting his chin up into the air. "You're probably having as much fun as me, Viole. Or should I say _Sir _Viole." He said, referring to the other boy's costume. "Apparently, Knights are just as popular as mummies are."

"God…" Viole drawled out, rolling his eyes.

"You called me?" Miguel smirked, being a smart-ass.

"Miguel, why don't you just go shove that stupid parrot on your shoulder up your ass?" Voile suggested, a smile dancing lightly on his lips

"I wouldn't be saying that Mr Tin-Head-I-Can't-Get-A-Date-So-I'll-Go-As-A-Knight-So-I-Can-Pick-Up-Chicks…Man!" Miguel retorted childishly.

"Do you think you're better than me or something? Because you're not! You couldn't get a date either, in case you've forgotten!" Viole practically screamed.

"Oh yeah?" Miguel challenged.

"Yeah!" Viole yelled back.

"Fine! I'm gonna find myself a date… Right now!" Miguel growled, stomping off. "Then we'll see who's dateless!"

"You do that!" Viole shouted after him.

"Well, it's been lovely talking to you ladies…" Dilandau said, yawning lazily. "But I think it's about time we left.Wanna dance 'Tomi?" He wiggled his silver eyebrows teasingly at Hitomi, who punched his arm lightly.

"Stop that! Okay…Only for a bit." She laughed. "Nice talking to you guys. Bye…"

"Bye Hitomi!" Gatti said enthusiastically while Voile, Gatti, Shesta, and Guimel just nodded.

After Hitomi and Dilandau left, Shesta looked at Voile and sighed. "How did he end up getting all the luck with women?"

"Wouldn't we love to know." Viole sulked.

0000000000

Van sat tiredly on one of the couches set up against one of the walls, just brooding and watching everyone else have a good time. Every so often, his eyes jolted to Hitomi, if only to see what she was doing. They were just quick peeks…He didn't want it to look like he was staring.

As he was scanning the crowd, he noticed a few familiar faces. Well, more than a few. Most of the people here went to his school. Van noticed Dryden, talking casually to the curly blonde-haired hostess, Millerna, with genuine interest etched into his bookish features. The robe of his monk's costume trailed on the floor around him with every move he made. Van wondered if he had tripped over it at all or not.

Not far from where Dryden was standing, Van spotted Gaddess dancing with a turquoise-haired girl Van remembered seeing in his science class. He would have chuckled at his costume had he been in the mood to laugh. Gaddess looked like a very convincing Indiana Jones (1).

Tucked away in the corner, but not out of sight, was Allen, looking ghastly in the nurse costume he'd been forced to wear. A smile found its way to Van's face. If there was a scariest costume contest, Allen was sure to cream the competition. Van glanced back at Allen again as he saw one of Dilandau's friends approach the drag queen, and tap him lightly on the shoulder. The boy in the pirate's costume paled when Allen turned around, wearing a grim expression. Van found himself laughing hysterically. The poor guy probably mistook him for a girl.

"Hey there!" A silver-haired girl scandalously clad in a play boy bunny's costume grinned at him. "Whatcha laughing at?" The girl took the seat next to him, sitting as close to him as she could.

Van ceased his laughter, staring widely at her. Speechless he pointed across the room at Allen and the costume he was in. The girl giggled. "Isn't that something?" She grinned cheekily. "My name's Naria. What's ---"

"Hey there Mr Tall, Dark, and Handsome!" A girl interrupted with a voice as thick as honey. She was wearing the exactly same thing as Naria…and she looked like her as well except her hair was platinum blonde instead of silver. She wasted no time in sitting down on the couch, on the other side of him. "I'm Eyria. I see you've already met my twin." She grinned slyly at her sister, who looked pissed.

"Eyria…" Naria said crossly.

"Just because you saw him first doesn't mean he's off limits. What's your name, bashful? You don't have a girlfriend right?" She teased.

"Umm…no. heh heh, my names…Van. Uh nice to meet you." Van said nervously.

"Van, eh? Cute name." Naria smiled sweetly, staring deeply into his eyes. "You've got nice eyes. They look familiar…" She began, still staring at his eyes.

"They do." Eyria said, smirking. "They look like _his_ eyes." She giggled.

"Umm whose eyes?" Van said, a bit freaked out. He didn't like the way they were both intently staring at him from both sides. The feeling of being trapped overwhelmed him, under the watch of their bright eyes.

"You wouldn't know him." Naria smirked. "He lives in Austuria."

"You've been there?" Van asked, without much care.

"Been there! We live there!" Eyria responded with enthusiasm.

"Yea, we came here to visit good old Millerna. We'll be here for a few weeks still." Naria added.

Eyria nodded, sighing fondly. "I can't believe we've been friends since the 3rd grade. Too bad we had to move…Oh well, it's not like we don't see her anymore."

"Yea…"

"Oh." Van said, silently hoping that they would stop pestering him. Nervous didn't even begin to describe how he was feeling.

"Hey Van, can I take a picture of you? It's kinda strange how much you look like _him._" Eyria asked, cheerfully.

"Well you can't say he looks exactly like him. He doesn't wear earrings for one, or have any tattoos, and he's defiantly got a tan. _He's _more on the pale side than anything else." Naria huffed, correcting her sister.

"Umm sure?" Van shrugged as they giggled. Eyria pulled the camera she was wearing off from around her neck. Van probably wouldn't have even noticed if she hadn't taken it it out. "So, who is this guy you keep rambling on about?" He asked, slightly interested this time.

Naria blushed. "Our science teacher, Mr Fanel."

Van's jaw dropped. They were talking about his brother. "…Naria?"

"Hmm?"

"…He's…uh…My brother. You're talking about a Folken Fanel, right?" Van stuttered out.

Eyria snapped a picture with her digital camera, capturing Naria's amazed and delighted expression along with Van's plainly shocked one. "No way! That's …That's…I can't believe he's your brother! I can't believe you know him! This is so cool!" She exclaimed, uttering a joyful squeak and taking another picture. "Take one of Van and I now, Naria!"

Naria looked at her impatient sister with wide eyes. "Wow…Who would have guessed? Well, I mean the resemblance is uncanny but I didn't expect you to know him…or even be related to him!" Her smile was broad as she accepted the camera from her twin. Eyria wrapped her arms around one of Van's, hugging it close.

"Umm…" Van hummed nervously, leaning away as Eyria continued to engulfed his arm. "Didn't I agree to only one picture?" His plea fell upon deaf ears.

"Smile!" Naria grinned and snapped a picture, the flash temporarily blinding Van.

"So…What's he really like? You know, outside school. For instance, what's his favourite food?" Eyria said with infatuated looking eyes.

"Yea! Tell us!" Naria pitched in, just as eager for answers.

_Well, isn't this wonderful? They're never gonna leave me alone now. I feel sorry for Folken…I wonder if they follow him around…?_Van sighed, looking across the room at Hitomi dancing unenthusiastically with Dilandau. _Hitomi…_

The two chatty girls didn't seem to notice Van's mind was on other things, or that he was staring out at the dance floor longingly. All they seemed to care about was churning out more and more questions about Folken's personal life.

000000000

"Having fun?" Dilandau asked Hitomi, inches away from her ear in order to be heard over the music.

"Yeah!" Hitomi replied loudly, not bothering to stop dancing.

"Me too." Dilandau said, smiling widely.

"What?" Hitomi cupped a hand to her ear to indicate that she didn't hear.

" I said 'me too'." Dilandau repeated, increasing his volume.

"What? Buy dead kangaroo?" She replied, with a puzzled expression.

"Never mind, 'Tomi." Dilandau laughed, and continued dancing. Hitomi inclined an eyebrow at him, but let his seemingly weird comment pass.

0000000000000

"Oh my God…" Naria said, pointing at Dryden and Millerna with an excited fling of her hand.

"What?" Eryia whispered, her head twisting in the direction her sister was pointing.

"That's him! The guy Millerna keeps talking about!" She informed her golden -haired twin.

"You mean Dryden? That's him? She could do way better than that." Eryia said sceptically, turning to Van. "What do you think?"

Van shot out of his lazy stupor, thinking that they had found yet another random question about Folken's life that he'd have to give some answer to. "Sure, I guess." He replied with undercurrents of uncertainty in his voice. How was he supposed to know what to say to her question?

"I don't think so." Naria argued. "I think they're cute together."

"Nah. She could do better. Even Van agrees." Eryia pointed out, grinning at the black-haired youth. Naria stuck her tongue out at her.

"Like Van knows what he's talking about." Van mumbled to himself under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"Did you say something?" Eryia asked sweetly, genuinely interested in anything he had to say.

"…No. I didn't." Shaking his head worriedly, he looked down and pretended not to exist.

"Strange, I could have swore you did." Giving him another awkward glance, Eryia shrugged and continued her conversation with her sister.

Van rested his elbow on the arm of the sofa, the palm of his hand cradling his chin. While maintaining his outward relaxed, calm, and slightly gloomy outward appearance, he was bursting at the seams with irritation and the need to walk over to Dilandau and tell him what he really thought of him dating Hitomi. Without moving, Van's eyes swivelled to the twins sitting beside him, pointing out people on the dance floor and talking rapidly to each other. _I wonder if they'd notice if I got up and left…Will I be able to get away quietly? _His eyebrows squished together in thought, creasing his forehead.

"Naria! Eryia! Long time no see!" Someone exclaimed, startling Van. A teen waltzed up to the sofa, wearing a green camouflage army costume with a strip of black ribbon wrapped across his forehead. He had wavy shoulder-length blonde hair, a prominent but not so overly bold nose, and sparkling green eyes. Van guessed that he had to be 17 or 18 years old. "I hope you've been behaving?" He said, winking at Eryia.

"Jajuka! It has been awhile, hasn't it? Good to see ya!" Eyria chimed, smirking at her sister.

"We've behaved. For the most part. How about yourself?" Naria rolled her eyes playfully.

"Not bad. I've been busy with school. You know, the usual." He laughed lightly when he noticed Van sitting on the sofa next to them. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Jajuka, and you are…?" Jajuka asked, offering out his hand.

Van took his hand, shaking it briefly. "Van." He answered simply.

"Cool. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Van grumbled. Jajuka gave him a funny look

Naria chortled at Van's serious expression. "Van, do you wanna dance? It'll take that grumpy look off your face." She teased.

"Great idea! Better than just sitting here like big lumps. Care to join us, Jajuka?" Eryia tilted her head to one side, regarding Jajuka with her big ruby eyes.

"No fair. You know I can't resist those big eyes of yours. Come on, let's go." Jajuka laughed, pulling Eryia up to her feet by her outstretched hand.

Naria poked Van's arm suspiciously. "Are you coming?" She asked with hopeful tone in her sleek voice.

"I'm not much of a dancer. Sorry, I'll pass." Van said, causing Naria to pout.

"Awe. Are you sure? What if I said please?" Van shook his head.

"Too bad…" She sighed. "I'll see you around then." Winking at him, she disappeared into the crowd along with Jajuka and her sister.

_Why did I even bother coming to this thing? All I've managed to accomplish is sitting around. I could have done that at home. _Van groaned slightly, knowing exactly why he forced himself to come. The reason was right in front of him, dancing with another guy.

00000000

Yukari spotted Van standing alone by the refreshment table, filling a plastic cup with some punch. _Wasn't he sitting with two girls just a few minutes ago? What's he doing now? He looks so…down._ She frowned slightly, studying the lonely boy for a moment. It didn't take a genius to figure out why he was taking so long to pour himself a cup of punch. He kept looking back at the dance floor with a very troubled look on his face. Yukari smiled to herself. _So, that's what you're up to. Sneaking glances when no one's looking. Did you really think no-one would notice? _She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing. Van's perpetual cycle of filling his cup up and looking back at Hitomi did in fact look comical.

"Should I be jealous? Or worried ?" Amano asked, fingering his chin with amusement.

"Huh?"

"You keep staring at Van. Why?" He inquired. Yukari sighed.

"It's nothing. No need to worry. It's just that…Well, never mind." She said, pulling her gaze away from Van for one moment. "I think I'm gonna need to have a littlechat to him. Amano, could you wait here for a second?"

"Sure." He nodded. "For my devil lady I'll wait as patiently as a saint." Amano laughed, smiling at her fondly.

Yukari smiled back, standing on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks."

She approached the table slowly, red heels clicking distinctively on the hard-wood floor. "Hey Van…" Yukari said, holding her hands clasped loosely behind her back.

"Hey." Van didn't even look up from his cup of punch.

"How come you're not dancing or talking to someone like everyone else?" She asked with concern.

"Well, I'm talking to you know, right? And thanks to you, I now have an excuse for not dancing." Van said stubbornly, giving her a flat stare.

"Grou_chy_." Yukari huffed. "I bet you wouldn't have to be asked twice to dance if Hitomi asked you to." At that, Van's shoulders visibly tensed. "You like her, don't you." She finished off with a smug expression.

"Of course I like her. She's a likeable person." Van shrugged indifferently.

"No! You don't understand what I'm saying. Read between the lines! You _like _her, don't you?" Yukari said, placing her hands on her hips with haughtiness.

"…Why do you ask?"

"What kind of answer is that!" She asked bluntly, raising her voice dramatically. "You can't answer a question with another question! I asked a question first, so you have to answer mine before I answer yours!"

Van grimaced at how far her loud voice must've carried. He was glad that the music was loud enough to obscure most of what she had said. "Well, it was an honest one!" He said to Hitomi's meddlesome friend.

"You're so hopeless!" She scolded. "Why do you have to be such a smart-ass?"

Van shrugged again. Wordlessly this time.

Yukari took this moment to glance at Hitomi and Dilandau out on the dance floor. The rhythm of the music had slowed to a crawl. Dilandau gently picked Hitomi's hands and confidently placed them around his neck before resting his hands onto her waist. Hitomi gingerly kept them there, but her weak smile screamed that she'd rather remove them. Yukari pursed her lips slightly. _Well Van, there is one way to find out if you do…_

"Come on, Van." She impatiently tugged at his unsuspecting arm.

"Why? What are you doing?" Van looked at her, startled at her sudden change of pace.

"What does it look like? I'm doing you a favour, that's what I'm doing. Now follow me before I drag you." He relented, knowing that she meant what she said, and followed her out onto the dance floor.

Amano watched the events unfold with a raised eyebrow, wondering what his girlfriend was up to. "One second, eh?" He mumbled with good humour.

0000000000000

"Yukari--! Wha--! Why--? Stop--! What are you--?" Van protested as Yukari placed a hand on his shoulder and grabbed his hand.

"Just dance with me and you'll see." She winked.

Van grumbled with his eyebrows furrowed, annoyed at Yukari's actions. He wouldn't dare walk away from Yukari Uchida. She was very straight forward with her opinions, and getting what she wanted. The last thing he wanted was to get on her bad side. How Hitomi put up with her, he didn't know. Besides, if he tried walking away now, he would probably get smacked.

Yukari hummed along to the chorus of the song, while suspiciously leading Van across the room at such a fast rate of speed that people were constantly turning their heads their way with puzzlement. Van's embarrassment increased by the fact that Yukari didn't seem to care at all! To top it off, she smirked each time someone stopped to look. He couldn't believe she actually found this amusing.

"What are you doing?" Van hissed through the corner of his mouth.

"Shhhh!"

Yukari pulled Van back a few steps, giggling at how his eyes popped when he realised he was right beside an irritated looking Dilandau, and a very surprised looking Hitomi.

...To be continued.


	14. Halloween part III

**Sweet Sixteen-- Chapter 14 (Halloween part III)**

**AN: **_Okay, I know I haven't updated this fic for...well, I can't even remember the last time I updated it. Anyways, it's been very long over-due. I'm very determined to finish this fic as I like to finish things I start whenever possible. With that said, happy reading! Hope it's up to par... (As in, not too corny)_

**Dedication: **_This is for everyone who has reviewed/ read this fic. You don't know how much it means. (Translation: I love you guys!)_

**----------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hitomi! Dilly boy!" Yukari chimed, enthusiasm oozing through her sparkling pearly whites. "Hey! I didn't see you guys here until now. How's your night been?" The pair simply stared at the daring Devil lady and the sheepish Vampire, Hitomi bemused and startled, and Dilandau flatly unimpressed.

The red-head grinned, ruby red lips widening. She dropped Van's left hand abruptly, pulled herself into a spin after ducking under his right arm, then coiled herself back towards him. Her partner's face went a lovely shade of scarlet red just as she predicted it would. She spun away from him again, and with a grand flourish, fell back into his arms in a classic dip. In his confusion, Van almost dropped her. He obviously lacked the grace and timing his partner was abundant in.

This only caused the devil lady to burst out into fresh peals of laughter. It didn't do his red face any good, completely destroying his pale, scary, and gothic vampire image. They continued to watch them, too bewildered to speak.

"Van, I wish I could continue dancing away with you like this. It truly has been magical, but I still have my goals of dance floor conquest to take care of." She sighed, almost wistfully, bringing a perfectly manicured nail to her red lips. "Hitomi, could I borrow your date for a dance…or two? I'll promise to play nice." Yukari winked, horrifying her friend.

Hitomi's mouth opened in shock. It was like her friend was playing an alter-ego the way she was acting with that costume on! She was almost thankful when Dilandau stepped forward, angry vein pulsing blue above his temple.

"What?" He delivered with a threatening stare.

"It's just one dance." Yukari huffed. She didn't bother waiting for an answer before sinking her claws into Dilandau's arm.

"Hey! What do you think you--" The Fireman's protests fell upon deaf ears as the Devil Lady dragged her prey away with a sultry smirk. She refused to tolerate his resistance, pinching his arm sharply whenever she felt he would attempt an escape.

"Score one point for the creatures of the night! This soul belongs to me now." She smiled at Van innocently. "You can thank me later, Cookie-monster."

Hitomi bit her lip, collecting her thoughts at what had transpired. Beside her, Van gulped. Had his collar always been this tight? That Yukari girl would soon be the death of him, socially-wise. Curse her to…Heaven. He was afraid to even look Hitomi's way, fearing the dreaded awkward silence.

"What did she mean by 'You can thank me later'?" Hitomi asked curiously after a short pause.

Van felt his shoulders tense up. "I have no idea." He drawled out.

"Oh. I'll have to ask her about that later." She smiled at him, unaware that the entire situation had frazzled him in any way.

The raging techno beat pulsed through the room as Van struggled to regain the semblance of composure. It wasn't every day he was scarred for life. He stared at the green-eyed girl helplessly, unsure if his heart was madly beating against his ribs, stuck in his throat, or if it had stopped altogether. It was difficult to tell with the loud music running through his body. She grinned at him slowly, slightly breathless. The black eyeliner she had on had smudged under her eyes was beginning to smear, leaving a faded black trail running down her cheek.

"So, have you been enjoying yourself?" She asked him curiously, trying to fill the gap of silence between them.

His lip quivered nervously as he stuttered out a pathetic unintelligible response. How could Yukari do this to him? He had been fine in his comfortable bubble of isolation, but she had to go and ruin everything by dragging him out here. There was no place he could hide now, no place he could run to. Even if he tired, the girl in the bright red dress with matching pumps would surely bring him back. He shivered at the thought.

"What?" Hitomi tilted her head slightly. "Never mind. The music's too loud. I won't be able to hear you anyways."

She was right. He could barely even hear himself think. Not long after the techno song ended, a new one blasted proudly over the speakers. It was a very familiar one to the hopeless youth. He had thought he had managed to escape it forever, but it seemed to have come back to laugh at him one more time.

It was the Macarena.

All the dancers on the dance floor laughed and cheered, loosely assembling themselves into rows. Hitomi grabbed his wrist as people began chanting along with the chorus, a carefree sparkle in her eyes. She bobbed her head to the beat of the Spanish song, body swaying to its rhythm.

"You remember this song, don't you?" She asked him excitedly. "Come on, let's dance! Yukari stole my date, so you'll have to do." It wasn't long before Van found himself stuck in the middle of an overwhelming crowd of dancers.

He could have died on the spot as he clumsily tried to keep up with the music, forgetting half the arm positions. His face cheeks flushed being this close to so many bodies. The heat radiating from the crowd was enough to choke a horse. He felt more than a little foolish, standing hip to hip with Hitomi, dancing to a ridiculous song he hadn't danced to since he was twelve.

A wave a nostalgia rippled through him. Yeah, of course he remembered this song. How could he not? His mother had forced him to dance with Hitomi at his cousin's wedding. He had struggled and fought against the notion, but his mother had won the battle. She always won their battles. The song had been just as ridiculous then as it was now, but at least this time he didn't have to worry about Hitomi intentionally kicking his shins.

The pair looked comical, a Goth and Vampire, dancing to an upbeat song. Then again, so did all the other ghouls and goblins around them. Relief washed over Van when the music came to a halt. Too bad the feeling would only prove to be temporary.

Hitomi laughed at his goofy smile, face aglow. She recollected herself using Van's shoulder as a support, and forced him to stay on the dance floor for the next song. He had been very reluctant to stay, but he let her convince him that it would be a good idea. After-all, he could always leave after the next song, or so he thought.

One song lead to another, and with each new beat he felt himself lose sight of the idea of stopping. People and faces were a spinning warm blur, moving by far too quickly for him to notice anyways. Before long, he even forgot he had been off brooding earlier, his eyes fixated on Hitomi. He was free to enjoy himself now that he didn't have to worry about her. She was right in front of him.

It was a nice feeling. She wasn't very far away at all, only an arm's length away. And Dilandau…who really cared where he went as long as he couldn't see him? Van quickly reminded himself to tell Yukari that she had been right, and to thank her. When the music's tone slowed, they weaved through the crowd to the edge of the dance floor, both warm to the touch and smiling.

"I…" Van tugged at his collar. "That was…fun." He smiled, still feeling a little disjointed.

"Yea, it was." Hitomi breathed a sigh. "I didn't know that you liked to dance."

He made a face. "I don't."

She rolled her eyes at him, chuckling slightly. "Right. Whatever you say Van."

"What? I don't normally." He maintained.

"I guess that makes me an exception." Humming to herself, she approached the refreshment table and poured herself a glass of punch. "Do you want some?"

"Sure." Van shrugged indifferently.

She poured him a cup, handing it to him without comment. As she brought her drink to her lips, she heard Van laugh. Puzzled, she looked up at him, eyes demanding an explanation. Noting her expression, he pointed across the room.

"What is it?" She blinked her squinted eyes.

"Look to your left." The grin he wore stretched from ear to ear. "Isn't that…?"

Hitomi's cup would have clattered to the ground if Van hadn't grabbed a hold of it instinctively. "Where's Yukari? Wasn't she with him?" She saw Dilandau with a panicked look in his eyes, but her friend was no where to be found. However, Dilandau was in no means alone. He was inching his way as fast as he could across the crowded room, evading a very persistent and scandalously clad Naria, whose advances were very difficult not to notice. His attempts to escape didn't phase her as she chased him around the dance floor, cornering him whenever possible. Dilandau's face matched his bright red firefighter's costume.

She looked back at Van, half-horrified and half-amused. Van wasn't any help to her, he was too busy doubling over with laughter to offer her any console. It was truly a sight to behold. "I think that's Yukari over there with Amano." The onyx-haired youth managed to point at a couple in the crowd between his fits of laughter. Yukari danced happily in the arms of her French poet, guiltless of the situation Dilandau found himself in.

Hitomi threw her hands up into the air with mock-surrender. The situation couldn't get any worse for her. "What a disaster." She grumbled bitterly. Pushing her hair back away from her troubled face, she drew a long shuddering breath and stole a glance at Millerna's packed living room behind her. The couches were packed, leaving the chattering guests no choice but to find seating on the ground. "I don't know what to do with myself." She confessed to her companion, eyes still locked onto the people lounging about in the living room.

"What do you mean?" Van asked lightly.

"Well," Hitomi began slowly, fidgeting with the bracelets on her wrists. "for instance, should I go chase after Dilandau, find out what Yukari's _really_ up to, or," She paused. "do I simply do nothing?"

"Um…" The Vampire hummed, completely stumped.

She let out a little growl of frustration, squeezing her fists together like a little girl ready to throw a tantrum. "I'm not making sense, am I?"

"Not exactly." Van replied honestly, interested in where this conversation was headed. Hitomi laughed softly to herself. She knew she could trust him to be cut and dry with her.

"You see, I don't think you'd really understand, even if I did explain." Chewing the inside of her cheek, she looked off into the distance as if she were weighing out the possibility of him being able to understand her plight. She continued after a considering nod. "Well, you might, but I'm not sure."

There was a long silence. Van stood there awkwardly, waiting for her to continue. He became more agitated as she remained silent, and fingered his Vampire's medallion to keep his agitation from showing. He waited a moment longer, but found that he didn't want to wait any longer. "You're either going to tell me or you're not. Which one is it?"

Her eyebrows drew together in irritation, brow creasing. "It's complicated, you know!" She responded with an edge. "You could be a little bit less…Van-ish about it."

He rolled his velvety maroon eyes at her. "That one was original." He muttered. Dodging her hand as it reached out to inflict harm on his person, he shook his head sadly. "If you're going to make a scene, maybe we should go someplace where there'll be less people to see it?" He suggested.

To his astonishment, she nodded. "I think the backyard is open to the party guests."

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The moment they stepped outside, Van felt more at ease. Perhaps he should have chosen this place to hide out at in the first place. It was cooler out here, no one was around, and best of all the night sky was the perfect cover for a Vampire. Yukari wouldn't think to look for him out here either. He smiled at his cleverness, making a note to remember this place if he ever found himself at a party here again.

They walked across the vast lawn, and eventually found themselves leaning against the six foot high fence. Hitomi looked a little less troubled, which Van took to be a good thing. He felt safe beginning the conversation. "Well, you chose option three. Now what?"

"I don't know." She whispered. "I didn't think I would choose this option, so I didn't really think about it."

"Oh." He scratched at the back of his neck. "You…" He stalled, not knowing how to phrase this nicely. "You seemed pretty angry earlier, and I don't think you were angry at me. Well, at least I hope you weren't angry at me."

She laughed, rubbing at the remnants of the makeup underneath her eyes. "No, I wasn't." Looking up at him with her pink eyes, she smiled wanly. "I was…angry with myself actually."

"Why?" Van treaded on the topic carefully. He didn't want to pry too much or make her feel uncomfortable. As much as he wanted to know about everything that was troubling her at the moment, he didn't want her to end up in tears or her throttling him for being incompetent.

"Well," She began shyly, hesitant to speak. "the truth is, I thought tonight was going to be different than what it turned out to be." She studied his face, waiting for him to say something.

"How was it supposed to be different? Was it the food? Music? Dancing?--"

"No, no, no." She laughed. Although she knew he was only trying to help, she couldn't help but laugh. His face had been so serious and his voice so concerned. "When Dilandau asked me to go with him to this dance, I wasn't too keen on the idea. In fact, I thought about calling the whole thing off, but Yukari convinced me otherwise. She made it sound like it could be fun going to the dance with Dilandau. Her and Amano, and Dilandau and I could go to it together, like a double-date. It was stupid of me to think of it like that, I guess." Hitomi sighed. "She ended up doing her own thing, and I ended up doing my own thing."

"Hm," Van nodded with sympathy. He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully.

"So, you see," She continued, back against the fence. "I think I've been a little naïve about the whole thing."

"Hm," He hummed out in response, eyes locking onto the dark grass.

"Well, at least I learned something." Hitomi sighed, running her hands up and down her cold arms. Her fingertips grazed the goose bumps prickling her arms, making her shiver slightly. "I should do things because I want to do them, not because someone else thinks it might be a good idea."

"Hm. Interesting conclusion." Van's head bobbed understandingly, his eyebrows raising.

Hitomi glanced up at him with a queer look on her face, tucking her hands between her arms and sides, clutching her waist for warmth. Van stared at her warily, waiting for a verbal berating. To his relief, it never came. Instead, she laughed at his wary expression, a hand reaching up to her mouth to hide her exposed teeth. "You haven't really been listening." She stated, smiling in amusement.

He hadn't been expecting this sort of reaction from her. "I have!" He informed her after gasping in shock. Well, at least she didn't bite his head off for his lack of response to her explanation. "I…didn't know what to say about it, but if you would have given me a few minutes I think I could have came up with something…plausible." His eyes darted between her and the grass, lingering on the grass more than her face.

Her lips quirked up into a half-smile. "Thank-you, for…um, listening?"

"You're…welcome?" He offered tentatively.

She gave his shoulder a tap. "You know, this won't change things at all."

"Who said things would change?" Blinking, he gaped at her in confusion. He had no idea what she was blathering on about now.

"No one did!" She cried in exasperation. "Sometimes you can be so…arg!" Stomping her foot, she jerked her head to one side and sighed. He could be so dense sometimes.

"Oh, you mean things between you and Dilandau?" He asked confidently. After thinking about it for a moment, she must have meant that things between her and Dilandau would not change. Did that mean she wouldn't see him anymore? He hoped that was the case because he didn't like the idea of them dating too much.

"No, that's not what I meant!" She rolled her large eyes.

His face fell flat in defeat, then rose again hopefully. "Then you mean things between you and Yukari?" That had to be it then. Was she going to forgive Yukari for…what was it exactly again? He was still a little foggy about the situation. They were still going to be friends, right?

"Van, for Heaven's sake! I meant things between you and me!" She practically pounded out.

"Oh…" His chin dipped suddenly as his gaze dropped down. When he thought he was certain what she had meant, he cleared his throat. "That's good. I wouldn't want things to change." Was all he felt he needed to say on the matter.

Hitomi smacked her forehead and walked away from the fence. Glancing back at the shaggy-haired youth, she smiled gently. "I-- Thank-you, Van. Really. I do know that you listen, although you don't always understand what I'm saying. But thanks for being there to listen, nonetheless. It's nice knowing that you care."

"It's no problem." Van responded, flustered and embarrassed. He had botched things up, he knew that, but she still appreciated the effort. It could have turned out worse than it did, he had to admit. She could have ended up hating him.

She walked across the grass slowly, looking back only when she reached the backdoor. "By the way," She called out to him from across the yard. "I still think that you're annoying. And you're still a Dweeb. That's what I had meant earlier, about things not changing. I think I'll always see you that way."

A slow smile spread across Van's face and slowly progressed into a grin. There was a blush evident on her cheeks as she shyly slipped back inside the house. She had grinned back with as much zeal as he had. After she had closed the door behind her, he dropped to the ground and leaned his back against the fence, not caring if his costume was getting dirty or crumpled. He couldn't shake the grin from his face. No, she didn't hate him, not at all.

That made him a very happy man.

_To be continued..._


End file.
